MMO on Rails

[yoshikwalla]

A good MMO has a direction. Even sandbox games have directions. Mabinogi has the destiny system and a series of quests that get you started on your build before going into the main story and other things. Even Ultima Online revamped its new user experience to point the character in the right direction.

The fact is, we've been going on-rails this whole time. Go through main scenario quests, do grand company quests, get to level 50. All MMORPGs have rails, one way or another.

However, Just because 2.0 has a direction doesn't mean that there will be just ONE direction. The good thing about FFXIV right now is that there are a lot of paths that cross. Starting city, profession, job, grand company, among other things. We don't just have one rail - we have a lot of them. Simply by switching jobs, you can go through another path you just opened up.

Skyrim is on-rails to an extent, too. You start out, go through a tutorial, become the thane of whiterun, go to the greybeards, get helped by the blades, beat Alduin. That doesn't mean it's the only rail you go on considering the amount of questlines there are.

A good game doesn't just have one set guidelines - it has tons. Final Fantasy XIV has lots of em and 2.0 will have them, and more.

And why not show the stuff that you can do when you enter a map? That isn't on-rails. It's an opportunity to see what paths you can go. You can pick what you want to do as a low-levelled Marauder when you go up, then come back after you get to level 50 WAR as a low-levelled Thaumaturge and pick what you want to do next.

FFXIV isn't just on-rails. It has too many, and that's why it'll make a great open-world game.


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Oh, why am I thinking. This is a Rokien thread.

[Ganbachi]

They mentioned that when they were talking about cross server content finder. As far as I understand, It should be a menu introduction to get everyone used to the new system menu. For example, this is to group up with anyone on any server in your region to finish an AF battle or a dungoen instead of shouting in Uldah forever.

[neorei]

what does it mean "on rails"?

[indira]

SWTOR was a mmo on rails and you see how that game is doing. my bet is its getting shutdown in the near future.

[DarthTaru]

SWTOR was a mmo on rails and you see how that game is doing. my bet is its getting shutdown in the near future.

This

/10char

[Nonsensicles]

SWTOR was a mmo on rails and you see how that game is doing. my bet is its getting shutdown in the near future.

Actually, it's still got more active players than the vast majority of MMOs. Of course, it has indeed taken a huge fall since launch, and it fell greatly short of EA's moneygrubbing expectations. It's not getting shut down, though; it's just going free to play (officially confirmed and everything).

[Rau]

Needs rails, with lots of optional, worthwhile stops along the way.

[SuzakuCMX]

Isn't the game on rails right now? I mean there isn't very much content you can do without doing some GC quests first. Crappy public dungeons, NMs, faction leves are pretty much it.

[yukikaze_yanagi]

Oh look, Rokien jump on the first phrase out of context, as he did in the very same topic he found it... Quote for thruth

How about your quite the whole thing and not just a part of it?

"We will have a strong in-game guide, making sure players know where to go and what activities are there to do once they enter a new map." http://www.mmoculture.com/?p=3030

Never knew a guide forced you to do something.

[bobbygunz]

Yoshi said they were going to take a "Conductors" approach to FFXIV.

I guess this means they will usher you through various quest hubs to level cap?

And then have some cross-server thing on the side (why?)...

FFXI had something similiar. There was a process where you went to valkrum, Jueno, Qufim, Kazham, etc. So it's not like FFXIV will be the only game in history to be on rails. They can still conduct people through content without it getting annoying. But at the same time, there's merit in the argument that too much coercian and forced gameplay just gets boring fast.

We need some content that lets us think for ourselves, and do things with the community our own way.

I wish MMO designers would realise that some people just want to log in and do their own thing sometimes. Fortunately there will always be crafting and gathering too, which is a playstyle you can always just do on your own terms, generally speaking.

I think it's pretty damn rich, though, how in that same China Joy interview, Yoshi P completely shrugs off ArcheAge as "just another Korean MMO", when in reality, it looks to be the only upcoming game which really invests time into developing content where players can create gameplay around what THEY want to do, not just what the game tells them to.