MMO: Why do people not play together?

I switch from Friends to Multi, just depends on what I'm doing, and how the game likes me at the moment (lag). I generally run around in Multi, mainly because I don't bother with resource gathering much, so that's not an issue. I also don't have issues grouping with random people (made a few friends that way). In Friends mode though, I can move with a lot (okay, just not as much) less lag. I also use Friends mode to go explore areas I haven't been to yet, to see how I can hold up (without having people help me....because what's the point then). This way I know what I can escort people through in Multi or Friends mode.

 

I was in a MPO scene yesterday and I could hear grunts of an avatar in battle a lot. Sure enough, mobs started disappearing and so did resources. I assume that the sounds came from an SPO player. Kind of weird to say the least.

I think people are not talking much because they are busy getting settled in or they are waiting for the land rush. I have had several conversations with people in my travels. I have also missed several conversations because I was not watching my chat window. There should be a sound associated with private message and those local messages where it is obviously directed at you., like your name is in it or something.

 

I founded the original 1000 member BrownCoats way back when SC was just kicking off, my crew is keeping things running and accepting new members every day, I could not keep the lights on without Senior Operator and the others.

 

I know that 11 people have liked this comment, but I have to disagree with it. You dont know me, but if you met me in game I can almost assure that you would like me. So far in SotA I have 2 friends. That's it. Now I am kinda the forguard of the guild I belong to, Grievance. Which is a guild that spans across 11 different MMO's and has probably a few thousand members. We do yearly get together in mansions in different parts of the US and in the future globally. I played Neverwinter with around 15 to 20 different grievance members when I came back to that game after I got bored with STO. Several of them have broken off and founded a BDO chapter of our guild that has around 70 members strong. I guess what I am saying here is that the MMO multiplayer is not dead. It, like everything else. Is growing. It's changing. A lot of people like to do things alone. They want to go hunting after a hard day of work and make up for the crappy day by wiping out large areas of spawns single handedly. But they also want to get together later on and do a jam session with musical instruments (I dont know if any of you reading this have ever had the chance. But the single greatest thing Star Wars Galaxies did was their music system. Before they butchered it, you could have dozens of people together playing in large bands for audiences. It was truly fantastic.)

Read carefully here because I am going to have to feel my way through the next part. People need their MMO to do many different things now a days, they need it to escape from the crap that real life throws at them, they need it to provide balance against issues they have that they dont even realize, and they need it to feel connected to something greater. That's a pretty damn tall order for any game to fill. And a pretty damn important order in today's society. I like Shroud.....I've loved the Ultima universe since I was a child and first played Ultima 4. I can even go as far as to say it shaped my pre teen life. Something that most people expect parenting and modern society to do. In the future, I hope that Richard, and the people of SotA can cover ALL the areas in this MMO. I truly do. The recipe for a great MMO is unknown. No MMO should seek to be the next World of Warcraft, but every MMO should seek it's success.

 

Wait, so players in SPO affect multi instances? That seems... odd. I figured we were in our own instance. Anyone else see this yet?

 

For animals and skinning it is seperate but for stationary nodes it shares the online modes.

 

I started seeing a few of 'those' names showing up in Soltown and I literally went, 'Aw, nuts... already?!' Immersion broken.... n....ow!

Your quick lunch breaks are 1 and half hours? I'd hate to think what your regular ones are. I'm jealous!

 

Ok, forgive me if I'm having a brain fart here. I've heard that people use SPO to gather resources to avoid having to compete with others. If the resource nodes are shared, wouldn't they still have the same problem?

 

Yes, all but leather.

 

would have given this multiple likes if possible.

in the end this is a game and not some sort of self-awareness seminar.

 

Was having so much fun I got a little carried away...I'll pay for it when I'm catching up on work Sunday night...oh who am I kidding I'll be playing Shroud

 

You smooth talking devil you

I'm thinking that these were meant in a nice way

~Our Friends List~The Largest or Smallest Guild We Got!
I like seeing other people in the world and possibly saying hi in passing or answer a few questions... With our "who you will see in the world" friends list thingy, people like Lord British, other developers and players like me, "if you don't want to see and meet so many people in the world, then never friend us because we're like social diseases". My friend's list is somewhere in the neighborhood of over 200+ people.

I think it's important in the world for people to be reminded that when you place others onto your friends list, then you may also see "their friends as well" while running around.
Yet large friends lists also help grouping together in really large group activities. I can open up my friends list and if I see many of my friends are all at the same location, then I can pop over to where they are and join in the fun.
Hunting parties, flash dance parties... I love a really big party! "it's the smaller ones that tend to turn into distractions into whatever your playtime was meaning to get at".

I like the really big party adventures !'
Just a little social tip
~Time Lord~

 

Oh! Let me be #3. I see friends like Pokemon. I want to catch them all <3

 

Just did it again...dammm I'm smooth 1 minute into a new zone was teamed up with a new friend "Fraggenstein", cleared out a mine together...
Maybe it will help if I make a guide...

1.) Enter zone...
2.) look for a lonely soul
3.) Say "wanna team up?"
4.) ...
6.) Profit! (add friend)

 

did you guys do any role play? Did you guys tell your backstory to each other, or did you guys just min/max together? I do not think this is a friend online, but maybe an acquaintance online. you guys help kill stuff for experience and loot, but really do not know much about each other.

 

Actually a healthy bit of both...no back stories, but we were in character, cracked jokes and in the end I invited him to my lot in Ecteter with a open invitation to use my crafting tables....maybe next encounter we'll get into back stories...but the door is open at least.

My advise, fill your friends list with interesting people...

 

I think this really is a game by game basis. As you stated OP its the intended game play. Its catered to styles of play. Look at Star citizen Its more NPC then PVP/mmo but you wouldn't think that by reading the boards or even playing in the pre alpha server.
fps games you have to pvp,in an Rpg it really all depends on how the game is built and how the idea play style is. Tbh sota is a hand holding and slow paced pve game. Not saying this is bad or good. If you really think about it the combat is in such a slow pace that it really does not require you to have a group aside to kill large HP monsters. The combat is really close to turn base with out turns i mean there is really no reason to try to doge/roll since if you are targeted you don't miss.

I rolled a new toon last night, and some guy randomly asked me to dual while i was setting up my settings. So i did i blew him up mainly because i have been playing awhile and knew the controls better. he was at least gear wise modestly leveled. i didn't even move he was like rolling all over and trying to move out of my combat zone all i did was rotate the mouse to look at him he died..

as far as players playing together the days of 1999 is gone i am afraid AC had one of the best befriending tools ever made and no one ever reused it.

 

This game suffers from its own game design. Having two options to play outside the sand box environment with solo mode and friends mode. This game really is become the exact opposite of an online MMO. Then you get to the point others have stated people are naturally going to take the easiest path. If that's solo with the option to horde resources easier then that's what they are going to choose to do. With the absurd amount of resources needed just to craft one single suit of armor. Players have to spend long amounts of time to craft and make gear. This is why I'm looking so forward to Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. I think Brads team is the last chance we as gamers have to experience a true community building experience.

When you have a game like SoTA remove interdependency. Most people don't group because there isn't really a need to. Even if you wanted to group in the traditional sense with the Trinity here. The game play is utterly clumsy and I mean that in the nicest way, but lets be real the combat is very bad. The healing is a complete mess, my friend who normally plays a healer in every Mmo we try. Has had the absolute worst experience in this game, having to basically stand on my side force healing me to survive some of the harder encounters. Which is extremely buggy many times the heals just fail to land because of the half baked attempt at FPS style targeting in this game. Combat for melee chars is in a really bad place as well most of the time you end up inside the mob because of this new idea that the game wants to close the gap for you. Instead of the obvious choice increasing the hit box range another foot and removing the bad idea which makes playing melee feel like your on a yoyo.... All of these issues aside my single biggest issue with the game is the map idea with sub zones. This creates a situation where you rarely run into other players, combined with the complete lack of any real direction. A almost non existent new player experience, with almost no direction on how game systems work. I've been around since Mmo's started and when I compare this game to what I think they were trying to make. It feels like a SWG/EQ/UO, but in all the wrong ways, only the most loyal of backers IMO are going to stick around for this type of game play. Honestly I don't expect this game to make it very far its shaping up to be the next Tabula Rasa, unless some serious design changes are made. Like the complete removal of playing off line solo, and making it to where playing online friends mode reduces resources gathered signifigantly. Other wise this game needs to stop pretending to be something its never going to be an online MMO, and just become what others have said a single player game.

Some have stated the reason that people are not around in the MMo portion of the game is this whole land grab thing that they are hiding and waiting on the side lines not playing till they're time is ready. Personally I think that is crazy talk, the reason people aren't logging in and we only have something like 1.5% of the available population on line at any given time. Is this game is in serious need of some fundamental design changes that either happen now while there is still a small chance at saving it. I just can't help but see this game as another failed attempt. I've been around playing MMo's from the start I've had the opportunity to help design encouters in Everquest, Vanguard, and WoW. I spent a bit of time doing game testing when I retired early a the ripe age of 29. I'm a good bit older now, but the one thing I've watched is game after game in this genre really do some things that make you question what is going on. Some of this comes down to the tunnel vision developers get when they can't step out side and play there own product objectively and see the issues that long time gamers will see from day one.

 

I think we're talking about two things.

The first is that people are switching to FPO or SPO in order to hunt and gather in scenes alone.

I think this is primarily because the way the instancing is currently working; too many players are put in too small scenes. I've mentioned here a few times that in the first few days post-wipe, East Perennial Trail was filled with people, and many had to just stand around waiting because all of the mobs were being killed and all the resources gathered, and its a small scene; not much to explore. East Perennial Trail is also important for the beginning Soltown quests, because you have to gather iron swords and kill some undead. I spoke with several players who said they would like to stay in OPO, but they felt forced into going into SPO/FPO in order to actually do something in that scene.

The downside of this is that not only do people not run into anyone in these hunting scenes, but they go back into town in SPO/FPO, and this makes the towns feel emptier. There have been some requests on the forums that the game let you automatically switch to FPO in hunting scenes and then to OPO in town scenes. This is why. So I've been adamant that I think the logic behind how scenes are instanced has to change a bit. The scenes should either be larger, or the game should force people to meet up less.

Even if people met up less in hunting scenes, that would end up having the end result of towns being more full with players, which is a beautiful thing. It was fun in the first few days of post-wipe seeing the Soltown Inn full of players doing various social activities like playing music and smoking and helping other players out. Even if they don't meet up in the wild, they'll meet back in town. Of course, players should encounter each other also in the wild, but not at a rate to frustrate people and force them to SPO/FPO.

I think someone suggested also making more mobs spawn or more resources. But I don't think matching 10 players in East Perennial Trail with 10x as many mobs would make the game better. Its too small a scene. Just include less people in it.

There are a few more things that would help too. Changing how looting and respawning works. If someone is running around a scene killing mobs and not looting their corpses, leaving both unlootable corpses and no respawns, it drives other players away.

The second thing we're talking about is doing actual quests together.

There currently aren't any real mechanics in place for that I think. How do two players talk to the same NPC together in a group conversation? They can't. Parties should be able to share conversations with an NPC.

Also I would add my personal opinion that I don't think chat modes other than local chat help communication between players. People will talk in party chat or guild chat or TeamSpeak or maybe even whisper and I think often it looks like the person is idle or ignoring other people. Global chat is the worse in this regard, and I think the fact that SotA doesn't have it has given rise to groups like the Hospitallers, and people intentionally going out to places like Soltown Inn, which only makes the game better.

 

The problem here SmokerKGB is its up to the devs to develop the game in a way that invites cooperative play. If they fail to do this then this will the be the singular reason a game like this fails. Players can only go out of their way so much to make the sand box experience work. The vast majority of making it work still falls on the developers to give the players the proper tools. Empty zones, broken resource gather, broken combat mechanics, and anti social zone design are pushing this game in the wrong direction. Look at SWG if you had the opportunity to play that game and then compare it to this and you will begin to pick apart the many flaws in the design. If you going to promote old school community building, then you need to adhere to the gaming tenets that make that type of community thrive. So far that's not happening here and from the reading I've done the few times I've seen a dev respond it was with an out right nope that's not the vision tm.. which is a recipe for disaster.