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The Secret Life Of MMOG Characters

Posted by Zonk on from the doing-their-own-thing dept.

An article at Gamasutra pines for MMOG characters to have their own lives. Specifically, the author wishes that over a very long period of time xp would accrue for parked characters. From the article: "Here's what I'd like to see: instead of Vanille Ice and all the millions of unused characters sitting on their collective tookuses, why not imagine that each day they venture forth and do some low-level crime fighting (orc slaying, etc.) just to, you know, 'stay in shape'. Now this workout wouldn't actually happen in any way visible to players logged on, but these characters would earn nominal amounts of experience each day. And in three months time, presto, a new level."

7 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. ATITD does this by merreborn · · Score: 4, Informative

    A tale in the desert lets you perform "Offline tasks", after you've done them sufficiently in game. If you've collected 500 units of grass in your lifetime, you can set your character to collect grass while you're offine. Or, you can accrue "run time", which you can use for instantaneous travel (the idea being that you did that running while offline).

  2. Um, don't they have this already? by nifboy · · Score: 4, Informative
    I thought it already existed, just that World of Warcraft called it a "rested state" and made you actually, y'know, play your character to get the extra experience.

    (for those who don't play WoW, leave your char logged off for a few weeks and when you come back you get double experience up until your next level or so)

    And besides, the power levelers are going to run circles around "casual" players any day of the week.

    (Guess who just got -1 redundant! Oooh! Oooh! I know! I know!)

    1. Re:Um, don't they have this already? by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 2, Informative

      (for those who don't play WoW, leave your char logged off for a few weeks and when you come back you get double experience up until your next level or so)

      It's actually just 10 days to hit your rest cap of 1.5 levels; each 8 hours yields 5% of a level of rested XP.

  3. Eve Online by GoNINzo · · Score: 4, Informative
    You train skills offline in Eve Online. The longer you are in the game, the more likely you'll have more experience. So, you can have one person who plays 16 hours a day for a month, versus one person who plays 30 minutes a day for a month, in the end of the time, they could have the exact same skills. (though the 16 hour a day player might have more money.)

    There are other games that develop these ideas as well, but I don't think it's a serious article. Any article that mentions Progress Quest obviously thinks of MMO's very highly. heh

    --
    Gonzo Granzeau
    "Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for.." -Roy Batty
  4. EVE-Online..yes it does this too by ironwill96 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Offline skill-based "leveling". The author of this article needs to check out EVE. Your character trains while you're asleep, while you're playing, heck, even if you cancel your account and leave a long skill running it will keep training!

    It really makes for great gameplay because no matter how much someone grinds the game, they won't train any faster than me (unless they can get some uber implants which assist slightly in the speed at which you can train skills). But basically in EVE I can start a new character and within about 2 months or so compete and kill players that have been playing for 3 years because you can specialize - take many things to level 4 in a specific subset of skills (there are 5 levels to every skill) intead of that last "level 5" that takes eons to train (like over 23 days for some skills).

    --
    "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." - Tennyson
  5. WoW "caps" rested bonuses though by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Informative
    I think the absolute max "rested state" you can store up it 1.5 of a level over the course of 2 weeks. (Don't quote on me that though)

    WoW however also enjoys the fact that hitting level 60 isn't that hard at all so some friends of mine who play it say its not really worth it since people generally fall into two catagories. A) they play so infrequently or in short periods of time that the xp boost eventually just caps out and is 'wasted' or B) they play 'hardcore' enough that rested bonus just isn't worth the 'downtime'.

  6. Progress Quest did this first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    I'm pretty sure Progress Quest did this first.


    For those who haven't tried it; IMHO it's the first MMORPG that provides all the best excitement of everquest without any of the tedium.