Hack and slash combat in a mmo.

[Goldbott]

I understand that a lot of people ask about mmo information and i don't expect to get a lot back but i thought id give it a try. I've been filling a books with a ton of ideas now about my game and I've been looking at my options on game engines and tools for the construction of the game. In the end i decided that no one would care about another dice roll game and to be truthful i just didn't want that kind of combat system. Lately I've been looking at very successful and most popular combat systems like hack & slash and fps or some blend of both that would allow to fire guns in third or first person and also use close range weapons (i know that this style of combat system has been used before in some games and will hopefully work well). I've found quite a few good mmo engines but most of the ones that are more useful have a turn based combat system. I don't mind extra work but I have been told that making a seamless world that features an advanced combat system (including combos and unique features) requires a high level server computer and a few thousand bucks for development needless to say i don't have either. So I'm asking for this advise - The best tools/engine to use and any helpful ideas. Thanks in advance.

[fireside]

I would look into the Torque engine for that, I think. The individual puts up his own little server and can have about 100 players or something like that. The question here, is how much programming have you done so far? Because it's very complicated and just writing something down is pretty senseless. You'd be much better off actually doing some real programming work. Starting out with one of those turn based engines is a very good idea. Also, if you are into game design, things like that shouldn't encumber you. Turn based games need to be strategy oriented and are just as rewarding if not more than hack and slash games if they are well written. Roll the dice isn't much fun because that's all luck, so change the game to give it more skill. The main thing is do some real programming, even if it's a word game. Then you actually know what you're doing.

[Goldbott]

I understand what you're saying and I'm already working on expanding my skill at programming in C++. Hopefully i can generate enough results on my own to find some people to get on board with the project. I'll look into torque and it's mmo kit.

[fireside]

You also might want to look into the WorldForge project.
http://www.worldforge.org/

It's open source and been around for a long time.

[Goldbott]

i might have to use WorldForge if i can't come up with the cash for Torque. Looks like it might be difficult to change the combat system but i can try.

[Reedbeta]

You might also want to check out C4, Irrlicht, Panda3D, and Visual3D.NET. One of those engines might be as well suited for your purposes, and some of them are free.

[fireside]

An mmo is a terrible place to start programming and you will end up either spending a lot of wasted money or eventually giving up. You need to start writing small single player games like every one else that actually learns how to program. It's very fun and very fulfilling. Eventually you can work you way up to strategic fights etc. A good place to start, I think, if you like online games is jgame.
http://www.13thmonkey.org/~boris/jgame/
You can write your own 2d games and put them up on your web site. It's a good library and java is a pretty decent language to get started game programming. You need to write small 2d games when you start out or you will never understand what you are doing. The reason you are here isn't that you want to create an MMO. That's all you play, so you think it's the next step, but it isn't.

[rouncer]

when i get my one together im just going for combat oriented mostly, with a decent way to fight - not just click on your enemy to kill him.

is that what you mean, cause im that way inclined too.

[DeBraveMan]

I suggest you to google video game design and programming books.
Buy some that fit to your needs.This is very helpful because it teaches
you on video game development while actually working on a project.
This is a good thing,but I suggest you working on smaller projects
to get use of the technology they use unless you have experience.
They usually come with Cd's that have development tools intergrated
in them to make work cheaper and easier.Try to buy more than one
book to expand in your possibilies and knowledge.