theinternetman

Hopefully this will be yet another lesson to smaller developers to start small. Focus on the core features that make the MMO unique (In this case building and territory control) and polish those core mechanics to the best of your ability. Once a stable base is established, changes can be made and new objects (in the programming sense) can be implemented.

Trying to do too much at once is almost always a plague MMORPGs meet.

@AnathemaOne

From what I remember the forums were a huge uproar of taunting and bad sportsmanship and outrage at the extreme overpowered nature of Warrior Priests and Bright Wizards.

Q: Why is it so hard to say congratulations?

B: Because, at least in 99.9% of MMOs, the opponent usually hasn't done anything of merit other than:
a.) Spend more time grinding than you
b.) Picking a class/weapon/item choice that completely counters you and requires no skill on their part to take you down.

For example being killed by many guns in APB:Reloaded just feels like getting slapped by $60. That said in a game like Mount & Blade (NOT CRPG) it's much easier to congratulate your opponent on their skill and prowess because the game is actually skill-based.

The really sad thing is that we're getting very far from the skill-based shooters of UT99 and Quake 3: Arena. Can someone calculate how much it would cost in $$$ or time to unlock everything in Tribes: Ascend?

No, I'd buy another MMO and improve it. For example buying Xsyon and making it F2P considering it's the most advanced and polished sandbox MMO that exists at the moment.

See you later, space cowboy...

Hard modes/shards for those who want it.
Easy modes/shards for those who don't.

/thread

But can I build in it?

Quick overview of Dawn of Fantasy for those who don't know it:

- You can't be attacked while you're logged off
- You can't attack specific players (matchmaking is purely random)
- The humans do not have customizable kingdoms (But the orcs do, not sure about the elves)
- The actual unit control is very similar to Age of Empires II
- There are no territories, conquest, resource control, etc. It's just your online kingdom with a traditional online RTS matchmaking system.
- You can siege another player or be sieged while online but you don't lose all of your stuff even if you get completely blown up.

In all it's worth $20 if you have a buddy to play with and you're a big RTS fan looking for something slightly different from the norm but nowhere near revolutionary for the genre. Certainly better than AoE: Pay2Win Online

@theinternetman

Just to clarify Dawntide is one of the few open world, building based, open ended, low fantasy sandbox MMOs in existence. The position and placement of every building and object is completely customizable. Players may build anywhere in the world, from the highest mountain to the deepest valley. There are no instances and entire swaths of players may inhabit or fight over one cell. Dawntide feels less like a themepark or objective based video game and more a true virtual world one may inhabit and explore. Think Wurm with the movement and combat of Everquest, without terraforming capability.

Very glad WAI has decided to wait until the game is in a playable state to release it. The beta seemed to be more detrimental than beneficial to the progression of Dawntide. Sandbox MMOs are far and few between and Dawntide has a unique flavor but has its roots in a more modern update of Ultima Online. Dawntide is truly a game about building entire unique towns, cities, empires, and civilizations in real time a la Wurm or Haven and Hearth. If WAI can polish core concepts and worry about adding features later, we can finally have a great middle ages fantasy sandbox MMO.