Quests and its basis

[localman]

Some of these features in in fact existed in games like the original 1.0 FFXIV which, of course, was a disaster. Indeed many MMOs have tried to strive for some of the things you've mentioned, but none of them really endured, because the truth is that isn't why people play MMOs or most RPGs for that matter. If a single game were to try and implement all of what you said, you'd find that it would no longer be conducive to being an MMO and barely even an RPG.

What it sounds to me like you want is something more like Dungeons and Dragons but in game form. Such games do exist, though they are mostly on the older side of things now since that gameplay style has gone out of favor due to how quickly it becomes boring to some people. The next closest thing I can think of are survival games like have become increasingly popular lately, but they tend to be more focused on creating your own world within a world instead of surviving in an already existing world. If you've not played it, I recommend the game Kingdom Come: Deliverance as it includes some of the things you mentioned.

Lastly, on the topic of features such as dynamically spawning NPCs and interspecies relations and stuff, at some point you have to consider the very real fact that most players would not even notice such features, let alone be directly impacted by them. Sure it sounds great and realistic on paper, but just like, say, Geralt's hair dynamically growing in the Witcher 3, does it really matter beyond saying, "Oh hey, his hair is growing, that's cool," once or twice?

Yes you must not conclude from the then primitive to today's possibilities.

The core principle of these games of yore was great, as they always had the focus in the moment and the whole world as an RPG had its value.

Today, getting through quickly counts as the only true content of a spreadsheet with a reward principle, like a paycheck.

We're actually working down quests in these games like an assembly line, and it's solo play.

The old games back then like Dark Age of Camelot, had the much better basic framework for an MMORPG world with values in all the mechanics like professions as item givers and group play etc.
But of course, they would be far too heavy-handed in the area of character development and gameplay today. There's no question about that.
But also consider a lack of development.
Had they started there and not dismantled the basic framework and replaced it with an end-game comparison contest, but then polished up the content there, the whole game concept would be outstanding today.

There would certainly be more quests today, especially in the area of character development. But there would certainly also be a much smarter system in the free game world that connects players rather than separating them and locking them into a personal quest tunnel.

The open dungeons back then also had a lot of potential and had a very good focal point for group play and friendships out of it. Today, the inis are wordlessly just a means to an end. You are put into a forced group for a short time for your personal tunnel.
The tendency is already towards a single-player variant with a few NPCs as helpers.

You just have to be honest. These modern so-called MMORPGs have only rudimentary to do with real MMORPGs, as they were once created and what they stand for.

What possibilities would we have today with clever systems to create absolutely immersive and at the same time connecting MMORPGs.

But the trend always goes back to these sports games with performance thinking and number crunching.
Even the aRPG since Diablo 3 at the latest has fallen prey to this destructive factor for the actual RPG.
Instead of the path as the goal, only the goal is relevant.

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