Normally when we think of a typical space strategy game we imagine it to be PC turn-based single player, especially if we’re talking about 4x games. What if this is about to change?
I decided to write this post to share with you my experiences playing space and non-space Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games, check out my blog post here: Can MMO games be the future of 4x space strategy?
It would be very interesting to get feedback from you guys, the space (and also the non-space) gaming community. Do you play MMO games? If so which ones do you currently play (or played), and which of these do you recommend to other gamers and why? Ultimately it would be very interesting to discuss here your opinion on if MMO games could be the new paradigm for 4x space strategy.
Please post your comments here, or in the blog post above if you prefer.
Cheers
Adam Solo
http://www.spacesector.com
I do play MMO Games, at the moment it is LOTRO I have played and actually paid for City of Heroes and Everquest as well. I have beta'd several other games and passed on most of them. It's very hard to recommend MMO's to other people as they all have a certain flavor that might be enjoyable for you but not someone else. Plus,many still charge for software (full price even) which I still think is ridiculous considering the monthly fee.
For me an MMO for 4x strategy games would probably not be very compatible. I am not sure what would be offered that would make me want to fork out 60 dollars plus a monthly fee for a "mainstream" type release. If its' F2P, then it tends to lack something I consider essential and that is an AI. I don't have much experience with the less RPG side of MMO's but a lot of them are PvP which I imagine is easier to create. I mean why create a lot of content when you can throw out a bunch of things and let other players provide the challenge? I enjoy Co-op in my strategy games and thus far, not seen much outside of PvP and brief alliances in the current offerings.
I am not 100% against it but after Cities XL's offerings, pretty skeptical about the idea of paying a monthly fee for these types of games.
want to see how MMO 4xes work out? well... google warring factions.
It IS a MMO4xrts, but lacking graphics.... and... ugguh... lets just say there are many many problems with MMOrts's in general....
No.
http://ultracorps.sjgames.com
Why not?
Perhpas not so much 4x actually, but you get the idea.
Also still in beta, still free to join and play.
After wasting 3 years of my life on everquest, I will never play a game that requires me to play monthly. They take up too much of my time and in the end you get squat.
Now try to tell this to the WoW players...
May no be space but I thought you were going the real time 4X route with Society?
I still look forward to that game!
Multiplayer maybe, Massively Multiplayer? Not just no but HELL NO
mmo-ish 4x space game: http://www.nicelycrafted.com/todc/index.html
tried it out for a month a couple years ago. originally it was 24/7, which lead to me being stupid and losing sleep by waking up every couple hours to check on the game, i think theyve since made it limited by the number of hours a day you can play. was kind of interesting. games lasted a week to a month, kind of like pantheon in demigod. no monthly fee now.
NO.
Nada.
I refuse to play any that requires a monthly fee. Also I feel that things start to suffer in playability when space games veer away from fps, rts, or turnbased strat. and the only one of those that works very well with more than 10 players is fps.
Frogboy, that's a lame response, don't you think? Like at least post a link to where you've discussed this before if you have. But just giving a blunt "no" looks pretty bad.
Monthly fee = Fail IMO. Besides that anything billed as MMO gets avoided like the plague by me. One of the reasons I am a loyal Stardock customer is their dedication to a solid singleplayer experience in most their games.
I believe Brad mentioned an MMO at some point.
No is not a lame response it just shows how basic the answer is. I'm pretty sure at lease 2 of the 4 Xs would be limited to very few players. If only a few players are having fun everyone else will quit. The only time I pay to have zero fun is on April 15th.
Hopefully not. I'm desperately antisocial and hate having to play games over the internet.
Society
http://www.societygame.com/index.aspx?c=1
I know a few "mmo space strategie games". but either they are not "massive" multiplayer or are so simplified and slowed down that they suck.
Society(or the mentioning of it) has been bouncing around for years. If it ever does come to fruition that would be a pass for me. GalCiv 3 on the otherhand would be if/when it ever comes about, a dream come true.
NOOOO.
I can't imagine any turned based game working with thousands of players. If it were realtime, I don't see why not. Eve is very close to a 4x game in realtime, and it does very well. Especailly lately since all the edges have been essentially smoothed out. Far and away the best MMO experience I have ever had, but then I hated WoW, and hadn't tried anything else since that was supposed to be the best - and I thought it was horrible.
Here's a space MMO that looks absolutely astounding. Just not released. Stardock may be interested in what some of his development journals have to offer. It's quite amazing.
http://www.infinity-universe.com/Infinity/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=33
PLEASE NO! THINK OF THE TADPOLES!
I always wanted to play everquest and WoW but there was a big problem; I refused to pay for online games. Seriously it was a miracle I even picked up demigod, well at that time I didn't know it was an online game. I just thought that it was a regular rts/rpg/action game with a story, a plot, and too chicks with big boobs lol.
In development huh? For MMOs that usually means they promise players the world and then a month before release explain while all the best features aren't going to be in the game or are going to be pushed into the future in some sort of expansion pack $$$. I suppose I am not as against the idea as others (I like to keep an open mind), but i remain skeptical.
This Infinity Universe game looks interesting..
The 4x MMO games I played so far are: Astro Empires, Cosmic Supremacy and OGame. OGame (web-based MMO) is too simple and dry for my taste. Astro Empires is also a web-based MMO but has more substance. Cosmic Supremacy is a light weight client MMO and is a very interesting game. The impression I got from CS is that its like playing a MMO Master of Orion 2 with some CIV economy elements (special people). Really deserves a look at. All these games are free to play (with paid extras).
Has anybody here played any of these games? What other space strategy (web-based) MMO games do you recommend having a look at?
[blog]: Space Strategy Games Sector
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