LOL. Why waste time and system resources walking/standing around in a limited lobby, when you can just use the same chat interface to do the same thing.Originally Posted by Ryme
But yeah, probably jiggles. They should also add pets. Monocles aren't good enough.
Your Challenger won't drive? You're probably in the passenger seat.
Can't sell/delete an item? Check all of your loadouts, it's likely still equipped.
Auction house? Why? It'll just render bits purchased lock boxes pointless, and weapons are mostly equal anyway.
Gear/enemy progression? No thanks, it'll only render 90% of the content trivial when you reach the highest zone.
As far as the progression in the game goes, why not just give small boosts to in game stats (general gun damage, health, shield, regen rate, move speed, reload speed, crit damage, etc) at certain EGO ratings. Let the player pick what stat increase they want. Cap the amount of points you can put into any one specific stat. That would give the game more of a RPG feel/character progression and it would give players a reason to increase their EGO rating. Enemies would probably need a bit retooling so there are "zones" dictated by the type of enemies present that can be overcome by either player skill, slightly better stats, or a combination of both, if such a thing is desired.
Just another reason why Rockstar Games will ALWAYS be one of my all time favorite game developers!
It doesn't much matter what the activity is, if it is conductive to it then some group will come along and mess things up for others. In this topic I wasn't talking about that need for policing but I did comment on how the need for it is an annoying fact of life, once the article was put forth. In this topic I did not get sidetracked by the need for policing chat or any other activity, it had nothing to do with whether or not a MMO needs to include effective communications in order to qualify being termed a MMO (so in that respect I felt it was off topic).
My forum handle "Skeety" was selected to associate with an internationally respected sport. Flying Arkfall bugs are even more fun!
i wasn't referring to the policing or censoring; just the fact that having an open line of communication will often do more harm than good, and as such, an MMO doesn't need direct communication in order to exist.
the communication, that does need to exist, doesn't have to be direct lines of chat or voice, it can be just as effective using macros/emotes, and in many cases, preferable
Your Challenger won't drive? You're probably in the passenger seat.
Can't sell/delete an item? Check all of your loadouts, it's likely still equipped.
Auction house? Why? It'll just render bits purchased lock boxes pointless, and weapons are mostly equal anyway.
Gear/enemy progression? No thanks, it'll only render 90% of the content trivial when you reach the highest zone.
I think I do understand the point that communications can cause undesirable problems. The article showed an attempt to address that. I can't agree that most people of adult age would be satisfied with a limited chat system (voice or text) as it would impede their needs in game at times and make the system ineffective and therefore undesirable. I don't like that policing chat is a necessary fact of life as that article points out, I didn't want to talk about it, but it is a fact of life. The need to police is not a valid excuse to eliminate an effective chat system or to reduce it to the point of being ineffective. The question remains: Is a MMO a true MMO if it doesn't have a means of effective communications - no matter the reason why. What is the purpose of people in an environment if they can not communicate effectively and act as a group? I don't think that question has been answered yet.
My forum handle "Skeety" was selected to associate with an internationally respected sport. Flying Arkfall bugs are even more fun!
The keyword is effectively. Are we talking about effective communication while chewing the fat, or effective communication in terms of handling a battle successfully? Defiance has an adequate communication for handling and organizing a battle(if it were needed), the system is lacking when it comes to the social/time wasting elements.
In order to be an MMO, a system of communication is inherently there, there is no MMO on the market that comes to mind that doesn't allow some form of communication between players, even if it is very, very limited and uses emotes/macros to accomplish this. Communication =/= chat or voice, there are other ways to effectively communicate.
What a game doesn't need, in terms of classification as an MMO, is a method to communicate socially, that's just something we are accustomed to from a) lobby games and b) MMORPGs where the chat is so integral that it's really become an extension, especially since the chat is often part of the actual game play.
This game, however, would likely benefit more from having a social element than not, for no other reason than people already expected it to. Personally, I don't see the appeal of hanging around a common area /dance'ing when there's stuff to be shot.
Your Challenger won't drive? You're probably in the passenger seat.
Can't sell/delete an item? Check all of your loadouts, it's likely still equipped.
Auction house? Why? It'll just render bits purchased lock boxes pointless, and weapons are mostly equal anyway.
Gear/enemy progression? No thanks, it'll only render 90% of the content trivial when you reach the highest zone.
Yes. I snipped out all but your 1st sentence because that is the crux. There can be many reasons for need for effective communications that go beyond "communication" limited to emotes (that is not communications, it's more like grunting). I will try to give just one example and hopefully it will get the idea of effectiveness across so that yet more examples are not needed.
Say a player is all alone in an area trying to do something and could really use some help. Why they want help shouldn't matter, they just do. How does that player try to find someone, who might also wish some help doing that same thing? By fast porting around and asking people that they are close enough to and who kindly don't run out of range before they can be asked? What's the realistic chances of finding that help? Or, would it be effective for there to be one or more chat channels (voice or text) to put forth that desire in? Or should they not be able to find anyone to help unless they are in a guild or they make a post on the forum? What is effective communications is self evident, otherwise it's loneliness. Which can make more money for the game?
As I mentioned, that is but one example. There could be innumerable needs for effective communications, people are very inventive in that regard. But I hope it makes my more generalized point. If there are many people who are playing is it not beneficial that they be able to cooperate together? Isn't that what a MMO is all about?
My forum handle "Skeety" was selected to associate with an internationally respected sport. Flying Arkfall bugs are even more fun!
Depends on the complexity of the MMO. MMO is such a broad definition that there is no single solution. An MMO like Planetside may not need much beyond macro based "hack the control console" and "i need a medic" and "we go on 3", where a complex raid, may of course require substantial dialogue.
If a player needs help, it's likely a complex game, and would therefore have a complex communication system. A game like Defiance, is relatively simple. Shoot everything, hold E to activate the quest item, and follow the mini-map compass. It's not like we have to hunt down a specific named enemy "somewhere" in the zone and solve a riddle like we've seen in many MMORPGs.
The level of communication should scale to the level of difficulty of the game, in order to best communicate to facilitate the cooperation. In a fast paced game, that means macros, and voice at the core, so we don't have to stop shooting to type a lengthy response.
Your Challenger won't drive? You're probably in the passenger seat.
Can't sell/delete an item? Check all of your loadouts, it's likely still equipped.
Auction house? Why? It'll just render bits purchased lock boxes pointless, and weapons are mostly equal anyway.
Gear/enemy progression? No thanks, it'll only render 90% of the content trivial when you reach the highest zone.
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