D&D 4E Bioware working on 4e Forgotten Realms MMO

[Zaruthustran]

Yeah, NWN was extremely unsatisfying. D&D--particularly 3rd Edition D&D--just doesn't work as a real-time game. I don't really understand why this point is so difficult, but: if D&D is a turn-based game, then the videogame adaptation of D&D should be a turn-based game. They should simply take D&D's rules, as is, and implement them. The result would be nothing more or less than D&D; only faster, and with attractive battle animations and spell effects.

 

[Darkwolf71]

I don't know a single adult fantasy fan that hasn't read the HP books, so citing an "older" crowd as a reason why it wouldn't be HP doesn't jive with my experiences.

I know many, starting with myself. In fact in my close circle of friends I only know one person older than early 20's who has read any of them.

 

[MisterWhodat]

Marvel or DC (both of which already have mmo's on the way)

Really?

 

[Uzzy]

Yeah, NWN was extremely unsatisfying. D&D--particularly 3rd Edition D&D--just doesn't work as a real-time game.

It's a good thing it's not a real time game then, isn't it? All the combat is turn based, just like in Pen and Paper. NWN is close to a 98% conversion of the Pen and Paper rules into a video game.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Really?

Yes, but rather slowly. The announcement about each is more than 18 months old, as I recall, and there's no Web site, no teaser images, no nada about either one of them. I suspect the tepid financial success of CoX have slowed these down somewhat.

(A game as old as CoX, with a major expansion with the addition of all the villains, should have had the need for new servers at some point. After the first week that CoH was released, they've never added a single one. That's not the sign of a runaway success.)

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Really?

Yes but both are very early in development. The Marvel one is being developed by the City of Heroes people (but I wouldn't expect it to be similar to CoH/CoV), and the DC one is even earlier in development with SOE Austin (not to be confused with BioWare Austin).

BioWare Austin have certainly succeeded in one thing - muddying the waters over what their real project is. It might well be that speculation has been accurate, but there's been so much different speculation, that not all of it possibly can be. The facts, possibly by design, don't really "add up" to any obvious conclusion either. Further, the only person I know who has BioWare insider knowledge says that the info is "out there" but will say nothing more. Oy vey.

The major possibilities are:

1) Original IP - I consider this unlikely. Jade Empire has been suggested, but I'd believe it when I saw it. Dragon Age has been too, but that also seems a little far-fetched, and "edgy generic fantasy" isn't a setting that's likely to set the MMORPG world on fire, even with BioWare behind it.

2) Star Wars - SOE's license for a SW MMORPG has allegedly been pulled (some time ago), so this isn't too far-fetched. BioWare have sworn, specifically, that they would never do an SW game again, but that seems like the sort of oath that would melt away when eyes fill with dollar signs. This rumour has recently resurfaced, but with no more evidence than before. Even if SWG still existed, a KotOR-era MMO would be possible.

Edit - I actually think KotOR is more likely, for Jedi-related reasons. KotOR looks and feels like SW, even without the Empire, but Jedi are common enough that they can be a standard class without shennanigans, and Jedi-counters like cortosis are more common too. Jedi are more diverse, as well, and in general, I think KotOR has a more "MMO-friendly" setting that later-era SW.

3) Fallout - Interplay owns the rights to the Fallout MMORPG, but they could sell them on. One of the heads of BioWare Austin (I forget his name) owns www.falloutonline.com, but I personally suspect this is a joke/obfuscation on his part.

4) D&D 4E. FR would be the natural location. This is one of the few franchises the might have the "ooomph" to challenge WoW for PvE Fantasy MMO customers. I also think that PC power is finally around the level where they might actually be able to do an FR that didn't feel like a pathetic, tiny thing (even though, in terms of actual area, it probably would be).

If I had to bet? I'd still go with Star Wars of some kind. If I could bet on two, though, it'd be SW and 4E, because 4E is quite likely for BioWare.

(A game as old as CoX, with a major expansion with the addition of all the villains, should have had the need for new servers at some point. After the first week that CoH was released, they've never added a single one. That's not the sign of a runaway success.)

True, but it's never lost or merged any servers yet, either. Population has stayed at 140-200k, fluctuating back and forth, for pretty much it's entire life. That's remarkably steady, if nothing else. Considering the highly off-putting nature of it's complex character design (well, off-putting to many), it's lack of merchandising, and the fact that it's not exactly the most accessible game in the world, I think it's actually done quite well.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

True, but it's never lost or merged any servers yet, either. Population has stayed at 140-200k, fluctuating back and forth, for pretty much it's entire life. That's remarkably steady, if nothing else. Considering the highly off-putting nature of it's complex character design (well, off-putting to many), it's lack of merchandising, and the fact that it's not exactly the most accessible game in the world, I think it's actually done quite well.

Sure, but when talking to investors, "the only MMORPG in this genre has failed to die" isn't the kind of thing that gets them throwing big fistfuls of cash at you, especially when their fantasy is to be part of the next World of Warcraft. (Which no one seriously thought was going to be as huge as it is. I was in the alpha of it, and I predicted it would have a million subscribers. I was off by a factor of 10.)

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Sure, but when talking to investors, "the only MMORPG in this genre has failed to die" isn't the kind of thing that gets them throwing big fistfuls of cash at you, especially when their fantasy is to be part of the next World of Warcraft. (Which no one seriously thought was going to be as huge as it is. I was in the alpha of it, and I predicted it would have a million subscribers. I was off by a factor of 10.)

That's the point, though, isn't it? It's not easy to predict which MMOs will be hits and which will merely be "successful", and which will be dismal failures. That's why it's speculation. If you looked at any other MMORPG, pre-WoW, you'd never have guessed that WoW could have happened, and further, most post-WoW MMORPGs have been fairly floppy, so what would you find easy to sell to investors? Fantasy? Ouch, going up against WoW, WAR, and the ever-potential threat of a "real" D&D MMO seems like a poor plan. Sci-fi? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. No really. Hahahahahahahahahaha. The biggest sci-fi RPG on the market is EVE Online, with 200k players, and it's really the only sci-fi RPG that hasn't been a large-scale flop.

KotOR would have a chance, because it's space fantasy (which is pretty much what WoW circa Outlands is) more than anything else.

 

[Zaruthustran]

It's a good thing it's not a real time game then, isn't it? All the combat is turn based, just like in Pen and Paper. NWN is close to a 98% conversion of the Pen and Paper rules into a video game.

Sorry, I mixed nitpicks. 3E itself is not conducive to a video game. The whole vancian spell casting thing, and slow natural recovery of hp, is contrary to a fun videogame experience.

IMHO, a D&D RPG (whether computer or otherwise) could stand to learn from modern FPS damage modeling: you can take a certain amount of damage before you're in danger of being killed, but if you defeat the enemy or run away to a place where you can rest, you fully heal. Compare to Halo's shield mechanic.

In other words, you're only ever in effectively one of four states: perfectly fine, hurt and recovering toward perfectly fine, hurt and in danger of dying, or dead.

 

[The Little Raven]

KotOR would have a chance, because it's space fantasy (which is pretty much what WoW circa Outlands is) more than anything else.

KotOR has a chance because it would avoid the biggest mistake SWG made: making the iconic characters of the series (Jedi) unavailable to most players. It'd be like making a feudal japanese MMO and not allowing samurai or ninja characters.