My two cents:
Sandbox approach - Absolutly yes. With the above mentioned risks and chances
Keep it generic / like NWN - While Golarion is certainly one of the best settings around, I'd love to have the opportunity to create my own sandboxes, with my own npcs, deities etc. Consider that there are many - let's say - FR-fans that are playing pathfinder. So I'd start with Golarion presets but allow players to create their own worlds.
Agreed. The thing that I enjoy most out of gaming is being a DM, and having the ability to put together a story, round up my gaming group, and see how it plays out. MMO's, to-date, have not satisfied this desire, and in the long run I always end up back at the game table.
I understand that you might not be able to make the system so generic that anyone can create their own worlds (like Neverwinter Nights), but I would at least like to be able to implement and run my own scenarios...
I know that Brix mentioned this, but one thing I DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT TO SEE is the generic "go here and get this/kill that/, and then run your ass all the way back to me" quest thing that has been the mainstay of most MMO's. Let's get some dynamic questing in there...
I have to say that as far as gaming goes, Neverwinter Nights hit pretty close to the mark, and I really enjoyed creating modules AND simply playing that game (also I played that thing for years). If Pathfinder Online could somehow merge NWN, with a next-generation MMO, I think you might have something there.
Also, please don't make it a race to see who can get to level 20 the fastest, who has the most pimp set of arena armor, and if you are a 12th level Ranger you need to do quests X, Y, and Z to get something special that EVERY 12th level Ranger has, and is obsolete in like a level or two...
I am just ranting now, but I want a world simulation where downtime is just as fun (and semi-rewarding) as partying-up and getting involved in adventures, and I am not feeling like I am wasting my time when I SHOULD be grinding out my next level.
Well I guess that is enough for now. That is my initial brain-vomit on the subject.
Bottom line is that I could really get into this, but please don't make it the same old MMO with a few new bells and whistles.
I am thinking this MMO should be a shared tabletop, where there is a baseline world to explore and some cool quests to get wrapped up in, but where DM's can design their own "instances" that can be entered freely, or perhaps only by select individuals.
I don't know, I am just throwing that out there...
Not ONLY an MMO, but a different, more automated and computer-centric way of actually PLAYING the RPG.
You can quote me on that concept; and I am a graphic designer, BTW, so hit me up, and we'll do this! lol.
Nice to see another NWN fan here :-)
I'd just to say that I don't agree on that DM's are really that needed. I see them more as a "spice" to the adventures...and yes...that might be a difference from the PnP perspective but thats the way I see it. I think there needs to be some differences between PnP and a computer game and this might be one of them.
You guys should read the FAQ. It says there is no leveling as you know it. It's skill based, the more you use a skill the better your character becomes at said skill.
