SH5 and MMO ?
 

So.. here I am thinking again...

What if there was a multiplayer option that allowed up to 58 people to 'play' in one(1) submarine?

Captain, XO, Navigator, 2 helmsmen (2 more off duty), cook, diesel mechanic (maybe 4 assistants), 4 forward torpedo men (4 off duty), 4 aft torpedo men (4 off duty), etc, etc.

We could all slightly modify our 'avatars' through mods, have headsets IRL for sound/talk (to those in your compartment), walk through the ship, etc.

Play in 1x compression time... when you log out that is your 'bunk' time.

You can pass off the "Captain" duty if you have to log off to your XO, etc.

Most people wouldn't have the time (understandably).. then have the option to start 1 hr away from a hot combat zone, etc.

Lots of ideas.

MMO means, monthy fee. Going rate is 15 bucks a month. No thanks. Especially if Ubi is involved, cause you know damn well they'll screw that up.

DDO.com is free (limited but still weeks of RP without any real restrictions).

Perhaps more modified 'avatars' could cost (buy SH5 credits), personalize your bunk or locker costs credits, increase your rank to a certain level but if you want to have the 'key' positions you have to buy credits. You could also earn credits to extend the 'free play' longer.

Just thinking.

You haven't thought this out completely.

First of all, number 1 bitch will be idiots, or rather, people more idiotic then myself. You'll have to put up with all sorts of personalities.

MR don't tell me what to do
Mr Self appointed leader
Mr 12 year old maturity
the list goes on.

Then with MMO's you typically have classes. MMOs are set up for class interdendency. In the extreme case of EQ, lack of needed class means sucky group.

Grouping... always a touchy issue. One on hand " forced grouping" sucks. On the other hand running solo is the anti thesis to massively multiplayer.

You know, i can rap about MMO's all freaking day.
My first one was meridian59.Then i played UO, and then EQ, and then AC, and DAOC, and AO, AC2, SWG, PS, E&B, Eve, WOW, and probably one or two others im forgetting.

The whole idea of an MMO sub sim. in my mind, is a horrible idea when you look at the big picture of everything that it would eventually entail.

Well, we could start a new DRM thread, and that would keep them all busy here, while the rest of us played online:salute:. :D

I keep trying to be positive and I keep getting kicked in the teeth. :03:

No, I actually don't mind the idea at all. Although, there's probably only a few positions one could realistically fill, without going braindead. (captain, watch crew, sonar, radio )

Would be good in a multiplayer / multi-sub mission. Campaign would be tedious though.

Well, i'll give the idea of an MMO this.

A persistant online world that advances if your logged in or not. An ongoing virtual war. Players "go to sea" just as they would with single player.

Changes would be:
- possible to bump into another player commanded sub while at sea if you both happen to be on patrol at the same time

- can send messages / status reports other players radioman can pick up.

- can bump into / talk to another players toon/avatar/character if you both happen to be online at the same time, and in the same port.

The overall idea would be similar to a call of duty 1 slogan. "In war, nobody fights alone"

That way you get the experience of being part of a larger thing, and keep your ability to login and and logout whenever you want, independant of other peoples schedules.

edit:

The trick to all this though, the fly in the ointment, is time compression. Time compression alone means synchoronizing all the players would be an absolute nightmare if its even possible. Which means everything would have to be done in real time or a standard time compression everyone uses like X 4 or something.

Yeah, I think that would be the biggest hurdle to get around.

But then... we're just dreaming and wondering so we don't have to actually solve the possible problems. Just daydream about the cool stuff of it. :)

The problem I see with this is that there's one captain. There's one XO. There's one navigator, etc.

What if both of those helmsmen want to play at the same time? Do they fight over the rudder? What if neither one is online? Who steers?

Sixteen torpedo men... What do they do when the tubes are full? Do you really expect 16 online players to sit and twiddle their virtual thumbs until the one captain decides to fire a torpedo?


It sounds great because every one is thinking "I'm gonna be the captain, and everyone else is gonna follow my orders!" That model of gameplay wouldn't last too long. Everyone would be fighting over who gets to be captain, one person is going to be it, and everyone else will leave to find another sub to be captain on.

End result? 58 different subs, each with one captain, and no other crew.

Just more thinking:

1. Only the main positions need to be filled. The rest can be NPC's (computer generated players).
2. Bored players can go to the ward room, or the bunks and play javascript games (chess, poker, etc.) or write letters home (emails). :)
3. I'd like to play the cook. I could cut/paste pictures from online restaurant menus. :)
4. I guess I'm just feeling lonely and want friends. :)

Edit: I got a new job in January in Arizona, my wife and daughter are still up in Michigan. Feeling lonely. :(

I was just commenting on the original post.

I don't think a lot of people would want to log into an online subsim to play cards and send email.

Get off the computer, go to the local bar, and make friends. :D

I know how that can be. My wife moved to Houston while I stayed in East Texas to finish my last semester of school.


My point is that people play subsims so they can be the guy in charge. I don't think a lot of people would be too keen on the idea of logging in to take orders.

Dang McHub, you got jumped on this one.
Here's my reaction: I've long wanted a multiplayer option to have multiple players in one sub.
My brother and i used to play SH4 with voice commands, one of us would man the keyboard and mouse for navigating the stations and what not...one of us would man the microphone to be the "Captain" and it was great fun.
Incredibly nerdy? Yes.
Incredibly fun? Also...yes, because I'm incredibly nerdy :DL
Having a multiplayer option for multi-user-submarines would be amazing...
However I can't get aboard on a MMO. Too many pitfalls in that swamp.

Is there some beast out there "not MMO" in nature?
Sort of like the current multi-player option? You and a bunch of friends log in and play the game together. Doesn't need to be 12 year old kids with 40 year old attitudes if you don't want them in your sub, etc. :)

Could even compete. U-128 has gotten XXXX tons sunk. #1 on the list in the subpen tavern. :) Bragging rights and their radarman gets to post the story of the big convoy on the BBS. :)

Yeah.. I'm a bit of a nerd also. I just wish the girls liked nerds in the 1980's. Back then it wasn't cool, just more lonely. :)

Yeah, you make all very good points.

There are lots of types of people and lots of various things people find more fun than others. I'd love to log in and be the cook, or the sonar man, or whatever. I like the 'team' aspect of it and pulling together. Everyone doing their part.

Sure.. you can get promoted as time goes on and want the Old Man's job... and in time get it too.

or.. you can start the game in Singleplayer mode and play it just like it is today. Just thought a social-option would be really cool.

There's already no shortage of MMOs, another one based on a niche market would only fall at the first hurdle. To make money you have to appeal to a broader market, and I seriously doubt submarines have this appeal to most people, especially MMO players.

Nice idea but would be a dull game... where everyone would want to be a captain....

I wouldn't mind peal potatos but 5 minutes later I'd be shooting everyone else on that sub.

So I'm sorry to give... :down:

OH come on, I wan't to be the guy that lays in his bunk for 60 days reading the same book he has been for the last 2 years, all this while we are being rammed by a friendly merchant and the boat is upside down.:har: Hell yeah I'd pay $30.00 bucks a month for that.

I said once that I would love to see SH as mmo where we all play the same map. Traveling long distances can be made as it is in Pirates of Burning Sea, so actually we can access the ship only in the pvp/pve areas and ports. Would be awesome to form real wolfpacks and hunt down massive convoys with heavy escorts or just going with only few friends to hunt in the enemy ports. This combined with the possibility to play on the surface with boats, could be a very interesting mmo with some real tense pvp all over the map. :up: