And how, precisely, would your suggestion be better? I think you've not followed the conversation very well; I realize we're talking about a BattleTech MMO, and that COULD encompass a whole lot of possibilities, different formats and platforms, and all different types of gaming goodness, but I'm talking a MMORPG, not just an MMOCG.
A MMORPG has to be about role-playing, hence the RPG. I'm talking about game-play ranging from the singular character being played by someone sitting at a keyboard -screw consoles, PCs are it- all the way to whole units/elements transporting from a world in one part of the Inner Sphere to another, dropping on-planet strategically, including the planning and resource management necessary to go with that, and competing in small and large-scale battles, true reconnaissance, and, when it's all over, either the Defender or the Attacker boosting for orbit or dying on the field of honor, as determined by the units/elements commanding officer and/or command staff.
The role-playing is what gets me, though.
One of the things I've noticed since I became a part of the on-line gaming community in '97 is that, despite the fact there may only be a couple factions played in the computer game, the Clans and Mercenary Units and Houses and Periphery elements always form up under their banners, small groups of friends recruiting more MechWarriors to become larger, more cohesive units, friends all. Players want the RPG experience to go with the combat experience, or else they wouldn't form the units, wouldn't go to the trouble of preserving that part of the universe apart from the combat aspect offered in the game. Those who build large multiplayer games, like MWLL and MekTek (AT1:BT), or build leagues, such as The Registry, DropShip Command, the old BattleTech Universe run by Bailey, or even Lance Command being prepared, now, are seeking to preserve continuity in the universe, as well, to be able to gather these units that have formed across the web to allow them to combat each other, to win, or lose, parts of the continuous contiguous universe.
So, when I hear from people that all they want is the combat aspect of the game, I hear people who have not examined their involvement in the online universe of BattleTech that well.
Now, if there were to be a MMORPG built that would encompass the aspects I've listed, above, plus allow the players to have characters within, and interact with, the universe, and then allow them the choice of what types of, and how much, interaction with several aspects of the game (role-playing, Mech Commander, exploration, combat, etc... boy, I really need to read this thing again, hehe) so they could personalize the experience they wanted to have, don't you think that would be a pretty awesome game. The units would already be formed, NPC command staffs, but allowing players to earn their way upwards based on what they do, how they act, how they solve missions and fight in the game, and what they learn so they could, eventually, take over running the unit, deposing the NPC officer(s) in the way. The players, and the unit they participate in, would be allowed to carve out a niche for themselves in the universe, to make it partially their own, eventually being able to form personal units, rather than being required to stick with the heretofore canon units.
Look, I have to get ready to go see A-Team, but I think I have an awesome series of religiously compiled, organized, and well-thought ideas that coalesce into an awesome game, with the proper money, time, and organization, and I think it's a whole lot better than what we have, now, though it's also much bigger. The misgivings a lot of people have about the technology are unfounded, period, and if they could put away their requirement for excellent graphics ALL THE TIME, remembering that, just ten years ago, the graphics they had couldn't even begin to meet the MINIMUM graphic standards, now, and just play the game for what it is, they could have a good time. And, well, the way technology is, and the requirements of personnel or, with fewer personnel, the time required to build the game, the technology will have come far enough the graphics will be there. It's just a matter of getting everything together to make it happen.
Bigger CAN BE better, as well.
