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Thread: Sandbox MMORPGs

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    Marios's Mustache Wax Reputation: 10

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    Default Sandbox MMORPGs

    This has been my favorite genre of games in theory but everytime i get excited ready to play one i go to the site and it says "$20 for beta entry" It seems they're all just cashgrabs I just want a good sandbox PVP game as large scale as a mmorpg is there any that exist that are truly F2p

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    There isn't any real sandbox mmorpg. Most I've encounter are sandbox themed. There are survival themed games that are sandbox but they're all pretty small in player scale. I think most of them only hold 100 players or so. Though, they are designed for private servers which divide the players up.

    Also no game is truly f2p. Players should come to terms that micro transaction will be a part of that business approach and how much they are willing to let the company slide for those things they are selling. Probably the line should be drawn when progression is actually locked behind a paywall. Example, in order to have over 50% or 100% for high tier upgrade (ex. +9 sword) chance by paying for an item is probably a good line to not allow. Mounts, cosmetics, and convenience things like faster exp or even levels (wow and ffxiv) are the more acceptable things.
    Last edited by GenoX; 10-16-2017 at 08:34 AM.

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    The list of games I consider true sandboxes are pretty small. They're essentially Shores of Hazeron, Life is Feudal, and Wurm Online. Wurm and Life is Feudal are medieval themed and have multiple supported play styles. You can spend your entire life never touching combat in those games and not get bored. If you wanted to, you could flatten mountains, create massive mine complexes, build boats and sail across oceans to new lands (only in Wurm atm). In Hazeron, you can create an intergalactic empire spanning hundreds of star systems, design your own ships from scratch, design your own species, etc... Wurm is officially released and has years and years of development. Hazeron is still technically in alpha, but also had years of development. Life is Feudal is currently in beta testing for the MMO version of the game. All of them require money in some way. Wurm has a subscription (was like $12 last time I played, I think?), but you don't actually have to buy it. Shores of Hazeron now has a subscription, but I don't know what it is. Life is Feudal requires a one-time purchase. There are some other games that could be considered, but I haven't really played them too much. Stuff like Salem or Haven and Hearth.


    There are, of course, other games that aren't exactly sandboxes in the true sense, but I feel embody sandbox elements. Games like Mortal Online, Darkfall (Either Rise of Agon or A New Dawn), ArcheAge, Black Desert Online, etc... These usually have sandbox features in the way of unique and innovative gameplay systems, territory-control end-game content, and an overall focus on PVP content over PVE content (not to say the PVE content in them is bad, but PVP is still the end focus). For example, ArcheAge has amazing water-based content, a trade-pack/route system, castles for guilds to fight over, and housing with in-depth decorating. Black Desert has all of that in some form, too. Darkfall, as well. Mortal, too, but with no water content yet (I think). Often some secondary features are interesting crafting systems and player ran or influenced economies. You can also further split these into just sandbox (rather than true sandbox): Darkfall, Mortal. And sand'park' ('sand' from sandbox and 'park' from themepark): ArcheAge, Black Desert. What makes a sandpark is the more traditional leveling and questing systems found in themepark MMOs like World of Warcraft. A sandbox is usually a game with skill-based progression rather than level, like Utlima Online.

    Then there are social sandboxes. Games like Second Life, Project Entropia, and perhaps something like Garry's Mod (though not an MMO, it can support servers with decent numbers of players). Heck, in some instances there are ARMA and Mount & Blade: Warband mods that could be considered online multiplayer sandbox games (Think 'life' mods from ARMA and the 'Persistent World' mods in Warband).


    There are games out there that are 'truly f2p' but most are not sandboxes, and if they are they aren't very populated and will probably be made using an RPG/MMO maker, and so are fairly generic. Think BYOND games. For example, until like a year or two ago (maybe three?) Shores of Hazeron was absolutely 100% free-to-play for many years. The developer wouldn't even accept donations. There's also a completely open source theme-park old-school style MMO (Planescape, I think? I can't remember the name) that has been in development a long time. There are some browser games that, while you can pay for some benefits, still offer a fairly balanced playing field for paying vs. not paying. Land of Lords, for example. You'll have an easier (and probably more enjoyable experience) if you pay the $5 subscription, but you can honestly enjoy the game quite a bit without it. I ran two alternate accounts that were completely free that I didn't pay anything on and had a blast, while also having one account I did get the subscription on. Of course, that's a fairly unique example as the game is designed to be slow in progression no matter what and a lot of the game actually happens without doing much (IE talking to other players).

    That reminds me. Star Wars Combine, if it's still around, is/was a completely free game. Somewhat like a 2D/Text-based Shores of Hazeron. You could check that out. However, similar to Land of Lords, the gameplay is EXTREMELY slow compared to most games. For example, you could spend half a day walking to a different part of a city on a planet, or several days in a hyperspace jump. Fortunately, also like Land of Lords, a lot of the game actually takes place outside the game talking to other players in IRC.

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    I kind of have to disagree with about the truly f2p part. F2P is a pretty loose term. It is generally defined by an individual of what is free. What is consider acceptable might be unacceptable to others. IE BDO - some players consider their outfits to be p2w or pets to be p2w. Others are fine with that. Then there's cash shop item to in game money with real money not equating to proper 1:1 or greater exchange rate. Some consider that as acceptable while others don't. Some don't even accept any paid amount for in game things unless it's purely cosmetic.

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    Endless Online ,_,

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    My favorite Genre is action games

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