"The Five MMO Essentials"

contributed by Force of The Coalition.
 

Our next user-article focuses on the necessary elements of making a good MMO.We hope SOE focuses on all of these extremely relevant points.



1. Player Numbers - This is the one thing that can bring our long-awaited virtual world crashing right down upon us, while i'm sure some of us could survive playing PVE and doing raids with others .vs. AI, the majority of us Crave and Need the challenge of outsmarting and defeating other elite-level players to satisfy our superhero hunger. WOW-style raids against AI just won't cut it. we need thousands of players online regardless of when we logon to play. this is probably a given based on the license and the hype surrounding DCUO, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking this isn't a necessity.

2. Game/Weapon/Power Balance - Super-Strength equaling the ultimate ownage for those unfortunate enough to get pummeled by bricks? mental abilities that are overpowered? super-speed rendering speedsters unhittable? characters with flight able to hide in the skies from all manner of damage? balance is easily one of the core aspects of any competitive or combat-based game. during beta testing there will no doubt be tuning of weapons and powers but the balance aspect simply can't be stressed enough--it is quite simply the most important aspect of gameplay.

3. Content - This is quietly one of the most important aspects of DCUO, while the game certainly won't have everything at launch, fair or not, when we pay a subscription fee? we expect ALOT. new environments? new weapons and powers and skills? new content is the gift that keeps on giving--its the ability to renew our experiences and prevent gameplay from getting stale and our eyes from wandering to the next must-have gaming experience.

4. Anti-Cheating - i'll make this one short and sweet. people simply won't pay money and be victims of rampant cheating. loopholes and glitches in gameplay that can be taken advantage of by unscrupulous users simply won't be tolerated when people pay their hard-earned cash. whether it be the previously mentioned glitches or a system that allows people to use cheat devices like lag-switches or unbalanced power-sets. issues like these will have the majority of users playing through the beta and introductory month---and then putting the game down in favor of games without issues with game integrity. we need to deal with cheating by BANNING the accounts of the offenders swiftly and decisively.

5. Timely Support - This part is easy. let's say there is a power/weapon/game imbalance that gets through the beta stage. Happens, right? please note the word TIMELY in front of support. issues like these need to be addressed quickly and completely. having them linger on for more than a few weeks tells customers that you don't respect their investment. and to be quite honest, if you expect consumers to continue to pay subscription fees, they need to see timely and effective support without all the standard "we're working on it/devising a fix" excuses that we've all heard before.

BETA TESTERS with Integrity - that's right guys--US. while many are going to be giddy at the prospect of finally playing a superhero-themed game worthy of our time, our concern for the lasting, future of the game has to be greater. we have to provide effective and organized feedback without the excessive complaining/whining that accompanies this same feedback all too often. we've all played games with enormous potential that simply didn't recognize their core issues early enough to make them truly SPECIAL games. we can't make this mistake with DCUO only to wonder later "what could have been" later. lets give these developers all the support they need to make a title that people will be talking about years from now as "the game that set the standard in superhero gaming."

In closing, this delay hasn't dulled our excitement for DCUO in the least, as a matter of fact if it means that gameplay will be tighter, i'd go out on a limb and say that many of us WELCOME it. while i've never played a game by these developers and i've been a gamer long enough to develop that special level of skepticism we all have--i feel like we can trust these DCUO guys--and i rarely feel that way. lets hope that the developers understand and respect the Five Essentials as much as we do.