I’ve got a killer idea for an MMORPG but i don’t know where to start tho. Im currently looking at what type of graphic engine i want to use, also what language to build the game in or so. So im wondering what can unity do?
I have understood that unity3d is or has an graphic engine with a userinterface so you can build your game inside, alot like visual basic (in my opinion).
So im wondering if you take the game World of warcraft and tried to use unity3d as a platform, how far would i come in devolopment, in lay man terms, im abit rookie at this and still learning so please no haters. But if you take WoW and tried to devolop it in unity3d, how far could you take it? If you set aside all the mechanics, bosses, items and effects, but world/character wise. Could i create a whole world in it? Could i make my character attack with it? Could i make some sort of registration to create an account and then customize my character? then join the server to play the game? I’ve got alot of questions hehe.
Im looking for support and help about this.
Thank you for your time if you respond to this. And sorry for my poor english. =) No haters please
Unity can do anything you like, given you know what you’re doing. I don’t know about it really being the most powerful engine on it’s side of a million dollars, but it’s one hell of a deal.
Unity uses 3 programming languages, JavaScript (although the Unity dialect can seem like a completely separate language), Csharp, and Python Boo. I do mainly JavaScripting, it hasn’t failed me yet, and can serve just about any purpose you like, with a few exceptions. I think most people choose JavaScript or Csharp as their main language purely out of personal preference.
I myself am new to Shaderlab, the effect programming system, and I think it uses 2 languages, CG and GLSL. If you don’t feel like learning either, you can use Strumpy as a node-based shader editor.
The graphics in 2.x, I have to admit, were not the most efficient, but in 3.x the graphics have gotten a boost from Umbra, Beast, forward rendering, etc.
All around it can do pretty much anything you want it to do. Since it is not focused on any one type of game genre (ex. Unreal is very shooter-based), it is suitable for just about any kind of game.
Although it can theoretically do 3D modeling, you may want to skip programming of that feature and use a 3D modeling package (Autodesk makes great software), an image editor (ex. Photoshop), and an audio editor (ex. Audacity) to create and edit your assets.
Its interesting that most of developers those days start with developlemnt with their MMO idea.
I havent had such thougths back then, simply becouse i had enough gamming and moding experiance therefore i knew that MMO takes a great deal of time to develop. The other thing was that MMOs were almost not moddable which actually drow me away from any modding or game design attempts on MMO, so i am thankful to Korean designers for putting file protection on game.
I know that everyone has to start somewhere so all i will say is good luck.
Likely because MMOs, especially RPGs, have a way with giving their players a very profound sense of game mechanics and systematical thinking. BlackOps and other games like that give you an adrenaline rush, not a mental workout. Final Fantasy was a game that helped me put my head around basic game theory…
Although Unity (server) has some multiplayer functionality it is not an MMO engine. You couldn’t build WOW with it without a source license and you would effectively be rewriting everything anyway.
You could happily use Unity for the client side and it would be a significant leg up over doing it from scratch.
I’ll try not to be a hater but making a successful MMO (even a simple one) takes at minimum a vast amount of knowledge, dedication, luck, and time. You can learn the knowledge but that increases the time. If you wanted to build Runescape Classic with 2-3 skilled friends expect to work full time for a year or two. If you wanted to build Runescape as it is now expect to spend a few million. If you wanted to build WOW expect to spend 10-100 million. In all these cases (even with millions of dollars) expect to fail 90% of the time.
If your idea really is killer (and everyone thinks their MMO idea is “killer”, check out the collaboration forums), then you should frame up the proposal and try to find an angel investor (do you have a rich uncle?)
I know that you probably meant this as humorous, but understand that dreams are fragile things, easily crushed under the weight of negative thinking, criticism, and cynicism. Also remember that just because the masses believe something to be true, that does not mean that it is, only that it has been beaten and ingrained into everyone. There are a lot of folks out there right now creating all sorts of amazing things which the majority thought to be impossible. Frank Lloyd Wright was designing buildings that defied logic when he was 90. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is impossible.
I have to be a bit of a downer on this one, my original idea was to create a “soft” online game. I very soon abandoned the idea because I simply don’t have the time. I am given something like 3 months to turn up a profit. I knew before that making even a “soft” online game would take me (personally) about a year to what I desired. After I knew my time limit, I dropped the idea and decided looking to the possibility to browser games. I was quite inspired because you don’t need perfect graphics to have a successful game. (Which most platform/PC/Mac Games do) I would look into smaller things and work your way up to a big project like that. If your lucky you can find yourself working for a big group making a MMO already. Just work your way up there, with dedication and other junk that I don’t care to mention. You will get there, if you supply that.
With no former background in programming or game programming at all it is very easy to underestimate the process of making a game. Games like WoW costed tenfolds of millions to create and keeping the servers up. I suggest you learn the basic mechanics of Unity. If you know neither C# nor Javascript, i would suggest learning the syntax of C#, because it’s the more powerful of the two.
Like a musical instrument, this requires dedication and time to master. RPGs are content heavy. Bioware’s Dragon Age 2 was created by a large team over the course of 18 months, yet it shows signs of being rushed due to time shortage.
Do not throw away your dream, but put it in the drawer until you are 100% sure that you are up to the job. I start learning Unity a few months ago and I have to tell you that there is a lot to learn. If you really want to learn it wont be a problem but it will be time-consuming. There is a lot of tutorials on the net, but none of them will teach you in few days how to make some massive game. It is easy to learn a Language syntax but it is much harder to develop a programing logic, so start tiny, and be persistent. Good luck!!
World of Warcraft is certainly not a graphical beast of any sort. It’s not Crysis, it’s not even the latest release of Unreal. In fact, it’s quite old and there is a lot of (IMO, inaccurate) opinions of the “outdated graphics” (IMO, they look amazing, even now).
Unity3D could certainly be used to recreate WoW model for model, pixel for pixel, code for code.
In fact, WoW isn’t as complex as some other MMORPG’s out there, which Unity3D could also probably do.
Unless you are one of the world’s best 3D graphics artists, you really don’t need anything more than Unity Free. You don’t even need Pro. If your game ever has any measure of success-- you can certainly upgrade, not just to Pro, not just to better graphics, but potentially if you actually NEED to use something more powerful than Unity3D, the level of success you’d have (otherwise there isnt a need) would be plenty enough to upgrade the game to an entirely new game engine, with a full team of developers.
I wonder if it is a cycle, where a dream is birthed, negativity destroys it, resulting in bitterness which destroys the next persons dream, who in return destroys the next’s dream.
Then all we have to do is ask the question, "Who was the ***hole who started all of this?" LOL.
I believe that the only thing stopping someone from realizing their dreams is themselves. If you really want to build a MMORPG, you will be met with more negativity and “Impossible!” marks than any other dream. Why? Others are bitter they can’t do it, because they were told they can’t, and instead of attempting it anyway they believed the lie that it was impossible.
If two people in a garage can build the Runescape empire, then anyone can do anything, anywhere.
Good luck with your MMO project - yet another one…
Hehe, if they all finish their games, more MMOs than players will exist
If you really want to make a MMO just start right now and see how you can manage
all the scripting, the modeling, the texturing, the sounddesign, the leveldesign
and 100 others things on your own.
MMOs don’t need to be graphic powerhouses with complex 3D worlds; Pop Tropica comes to mind as one particular 2D multiplayer online role playing game that doesn’t have the complex issues associated with a Wow-type MMO.
I guess I don’t understand why, every time someone says ‘I have a killer idea for a MMORPG’ they get shot down by people who point out that making the same MMO as has already been made 100 times, is really hard. If someone else is trying to think outside the box, why shoot them down with in-the-box thinking?
People associate MMORPG with 3D, vast worlds, and lag-impared combat systems but they need not be. Heck, a 1000-player cooperative ‘World of Goo’ or ‘Angry Birds’ MMO could be the next big thing if it’s done right.
I’m unaware of the actual differences between Pro Free, but I do realize that Pro has more than just fancier graphics. However, there is nothing Free can’t accomplish for a game worth <Pro $ investment.
If a game is of any measure of success with the Free License (especially an MMO) then it can easily afford a Pro license. Otherwise, there is no need for a Pro.
Like I’ve heard someone smart say before on these forums, “If you can’t do it with free, you won’t do it with Pro.”
This is especially true for making a beautifully graphical 3D world.
