The Pathfinder RPG is a D&D type game system that I began playing earlier this year. Well, it turns out that they’re planning on releasing a fantasy sandbox MMO. This is their own description of what they hope to achieve:
A lot of big picture work has already been done on Pathfinder Online, and it’s going to be a bit different from your traditional fantasy MMO. It’s going to focus around the characters you create, in a world that will grow out of your interactions, developing the way you choose to develop it. It takes place in the River Kingdoms of Golarion, with our own Kingmaker Adventure Path providing some of the inspiration. There will be an overarching storyline, and dungeons aplenty to explore, but where Pathfinder Online is going to thrive is in the ability of each of you to leave your mark on the world. Do you want to build a castle that you own and control? Go for it. Want to start a town and rally folks to your banner? Do that. Do you want to ally with the neighboring villages to form a new nation—or perhaps wage war on them instead? The choice is yours. Want to become the most feared bandit in the River Kingdoms? The path is available. Want to become the greatest armorer that Golarion has ever seen? All it takes is hard work. If you can imagine doing something in the world of Golarion, we want you to be able to do that in Pathfinder Online.
A new company called goblinworks has been set up to make the title, (Gevlon will be pleased). From what I can gather thus far it is in the very early stages of development. But their focus will be on crafting systems, as well as player housing and settlements. Many of the things that we have been crowing about for the past year.
I really hope that they get this right. Because we all know that they will only get the one chance to nail it. Stuff it up on release and watch it all go Age of Conan. I ask the developers to carefully consider the opportunity they have to appeal to the disenfranchised gamer. Hopefully they’ll have a winner on their hands, and thus we’ll benefit. I do not have any news on a release date, but will do more digging this weekend.
November 25, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Your link doesn’t work.
On topic, I wish them all the best. It’s a pity that money-starved start-ups have to create sandboxes. But it’s better than nothing I guess
November 26, 2011 at 2:28 am
Love Pathfinder (aka 3.7e). We’ll see how it pans out as an MMO. They’ve developed the World and a good chunk of history pretty quickly, so there’s some lore there already. As you suggested, though, it will be wait and see.
November 26, 2011 at 9:15 am
The cardinal question will be how they handle World PvP:
will it be consensual, or can you wake up one day and find out that that manor you’ve been painstakingly building for months has been razed to the ground, and the one who did it corpse-camping you basically from the moment you log in to see the carnage?
Don’t take me wrong, I like the idea of ‘wilderness’ areas in the world (a bit akin to the RvR zones in DAoC and 0.0. in EVE), but the major crunch – at least for Western players – for sandboxes is the PvP question.
(anedotical evidence being e.g. the interest for Terra in the blogosphere, the moment it was revealed it had F4all PvP interest in the title waned abruptly)
November 28, 2011 at 1:27 pm
I think that’s a very good point Netherlands.
While I’ve always liked the ‘idea’ of FFA PvP (after all, it’s a world without restrictions, where each of us is limited only by our own skill and dedication), I’ve discovered that the reality of it is usually very different from the fantasy scenario – an exercise in pure frustration, in which griefers are often given carte blanche to behave like complete douchebags without consequence.
Pathfinder Online does sound very intriguing at this early stage though. I’m certainly going to keep an eye on it’s development.