Defining a MMO co-op vs solo play for a online game

General
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i kind of feel like a discussion around what is defined has a MMO is needed i have noticed has of late a lot of people saying things like

“this game is not solo friendly”

followed by a swarm of “this is a MMO if you don’t like it go play minecraft”

form wikipedia

MMO stands for " massively multiplayer online game" not massively multiplayer online forced co-op game

while yes alot if not most MMO’s have co-op elements be it dungeons or raids or special events for the most part i would say 50% if not more of the content can be accessed without ever needing to interact with players in a meaningful way IE dungeons or quest groups.

now in the case of games like boundless if we where to be honest with ourselves if say microsoft was to change nothing with minecraft but make it single shard online only game even tho you never have to talk or interact with anyone ever to play the game rock paper shotgun would headline that has “microsoft moves minecraft to a MMO model”

while yes building games do tend to be more social then other sub genre games like Creativerse still have solo aspects cuz not everyone wants to be socal all the time while they are playing a game. one game that games to mine is final fantasy online myself i tryed the game when twitch prime was given the base game and month free but never subbed for more cuz i was not a fan of the fact that the main story tied player dungeons into it.

so here i am wanting to just relax and advance in the main story but having to wait to find a group who 9/10 has done the dungeons way more then once and just blows throw it while im just trying to keep up and missing out on story cuz im having to skip cutscenes to keep up.

TL:DR
-a MMO is just a online game with large numbers of players

t-here are benefits of both solo and co-op play and striking a balance between the too give the solo market something to jump on and have the co-op elements there for when they want to be social or just give it a try.

of course this is just how i see/ define it feel free to argue any points i have made :slight_smile:

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Boundless doesn’t force co-op - all hunting, mining, gathering etc. is doable solo (just takes more time to get everything you want)

Boundless forces participation in the economy/market (to a degree) if you want to get certain items faster than through solo play. Buying/selling stuff is not co-operation. It’s just another way of obtaining things solo (you buy and sell individually).

Co-op happens only when people want it (hunting, opening costly portal to exoworld etc.), not because they must.

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and something like the economy/market shod be a social aspect i was more meaning if say the devs allowed a small amount of oort to say drop form regular mobs so people who want to solo gathering that then it would not necessary be anti MMO there are parts that shod be socal IE a ingame economy and other parts that can be more laid back.

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This game is not solo friendly? Next time you visit Axon on Biitula 80% of it is a solo build… though I love people to move there! If you are dedicated and such, there is NOTHING that will stop you in Boundless

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myself i think boundless can be done solo its kind of painful for new players getting that resource foot hold but its there. the bulk of the post was more just addressing the assumption that you play boundless to interact with people and minecraft to solo build.

expanding a bit on that

when someone says “boundless is not solo friendly”

the replies in general are not "is the solo aspects too hard?. its “go play a offline building game if you want to solo”

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Hi. Your view is very nice. But it does have much land? Surely this has spent some dollars. How much it costs to own so much? One day I would like this.

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I think you’re right, if you’re dedicated you can do whatever you want (which I would hope from a game called Boundless) but I don’t believe @anon42939288’s OP is implying that the game is or isn’t solo friendly.

My build on Kol Huroo is all made by myself too, though I do rely on other people’s hubs for inter-world travels… I don’t like to be reliant, I’d rather be self-sufficient, but I know I don’t have the time nor patience for the amount of setup and maintenance that would require.

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early backer perks were nice… I have an +85% plot bonus… some people with Oortian level have +200%!

still does not change the fact that you can grind for plots (Mining for example) and create something epic…just takes time and effort

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I’ve only ever bought plots twice, but over 90% of my plots have been earned via levelling, and I have over 5,000 plots.

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to me, boundless can be played full on solo, full on co-op and any degree between…just depends how much time you want to dedicate to certain aspects of the game.
I would regard myself as a mostly solo player but rely on interaction with other players, through my shop, so I can get coin to go spend at other people’s shops to make my solo build easier to accomplish. I also have plenty of portals for shop and builds as I enjoy having a purpose for part of my build outside my own building ambitions.
So I’m not full solo…going fully lone bot, without any other player interaction, I wouldn’t have been able to build half of what I have, and I’m glad for that.

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Yes yes! Much time this is true. Maybe I will have this in a years time. Time for more work Today I make liquid to prepare for sell. And then dig some more metals. Busy busy.

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Maybe you just need to reexamine your assumptions. I don’t think they’re all that widely held, based on the number of players I’ve run in to who only do solo play.

Granted, when you engage in social interaction on a forum you tend to get a self-selected group of people biased toward social interaction. It’s not necessarily indicative of the wider player population.

That said, if one were to examine the literal meaning of the word “multiplayer” it does imply the opposite of “single player”. It seems to be odd to assume that “multiplayer” should mean solo play, but I suppose you could define “multiple” as “one or more” instead of “more than one”. The closed interface [1, ∞], mathematically speaking, instead of the half-open interval (1, ∞]. Math is just so much more precise than the English language.

Anyway, just play the way you enjoy. If an aspect of the play doesn’t suit you, either avoid it or lobby to get it changed, but don’t be surprised if not everybody agrees with your suggested change. It’s their game too. It’s a multiplayer game.

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I have played the game in 3 different ways and enjoyed each immensely.

  • I bought the game along with two friends the day of launch for the PS4. We made a small village on Sorssi. It was amateur hour, but we had fun for a while.

  • My friends got burnt out and quit after a few months and so I joined a large settlement (Kindred Bay) Super nice people! Had a blast for there and learned a great deal more about the game.

  • While I enjoyed K.Bay a ton, I got the itch to go out on my own after I visited Circarpous and was blown away by the views. So I packed up, moved to Circarpous and have been playing solo for the past few months.

I think Boundless is a great game because you can play it in so many ways.

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So, like, here’s the thing about Boundless. I really do like what it does in terms of mechanics, but I dislike the ways it implements MMO ideals. I’ve always been a very impersonal MMO player, very impersonal Minecraft player. I tend not to work with other people, if I can solo play, I will solo play. I tend to avoid things like auction houses or player stores unless they’re INCREDIBLY convenient for an immediate need of mine. When I build in a multiplayer Minecraft-like game, it’s so I can have something I made myself that other people can look at.

Which… kind of ties to one of my issues with Boundless. I dislike the way levelling up too much hems in your playstyle. Suddenly, you’re restricted in to a playstyle and you won’t be reallocating stuff freely. You have to plan ahead what this character does when their gameplay freedom is taken away from them. My question’s always been “Why does it have to be like that?” and the answer I’ve gotten is “Because it’s kind of like MMO classes,” or “Because it encourages interacting people who are doing something useful to you.”

Like… I get it, I really understand the cooperative intent, but it’s annoying for a person like me who prefers being self-sufficient and not having to suffer for that. Boundless in my experience is pretty unfriendly to people who want to do everything they can on their own, between how much planet jumping costs, how often you have to make new tools, not being able to have skills where you need them… Making and levelling new characters is such a hassle. It killed my personal momentum with the game when I realised “Oh, this stinks, I can’t have the skills to make mining not take forever AND the skills that let me make the materials I need to build at the same time.”

And… so now I kinda just leech stuff off a generous friend whose own playstyle is more suited to the game. I don’t really like that. I’d prefer it if I could play at the pace I liked without feeling forced to rely on other people or needing to level character after character to accomplish the things I need. I don’t hate the game for its choices, the things it does in comparison to Minecraft makes it such a big draw for me, I just… wish things were a little different.

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I feel like boundless should be more MMO. I am probably the unpopular one here. But if everyone does everything, then it gets boring. Diversification of roles would allow everyone to do their favorite activity instead of having to do all activities.

Builders should have a way to make coin, so they dont have to mine oort. They can just buy it with coin.

Miners shouldn’t have to fight, they should be able to buy oort because they can sell gems or t7 ore for good price.

Builders shouldn’t have to fight or mine, they should be able to gen coin by building.

I’m not against solo players. I’m against having no economy in game. To me having different roles is the fun part. Having a hunter shop vs a builder shop.

There is too much blandness right now, because everything is catering towards solo playing. You dont need to be forced to do anything. We need a health economy where people can specialize and profit, so everyone doesnt have to do everything and still afford what you want.

Edit: right now you are forced to fight for oort, but it would not feel that way if building could make money. I.e. selling their building or being paid to build something for others. That is what we need.

Not universalization of getting things.

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The game can absolutely be played solo. I feel that the people who try to claim this is not the case are typically one or more of the following.

I - They just give up way to early.
II - They are not willing to, or are unable to self learn.
III - They refuse take the real role of a solo player and insist on „I only want to do X and I expect everything else to be handed to me“
IV - They give up the moment they notice they can’t get everything they want within an unrealistic amount of time
V - They are the type of player who would need a Creative mode or some other instant gratification function to be happy.

I think point III might be a large one from what I have seen so far, If you want to be a solo player, then you have to be able to adapt and do what is required, If you sit there and say I only am willing to do X, then you can’t complain if you start to fail as a solo player when you yourself refused to do what was required.

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They do, they drop from Road Runners I have been gathering Oort only from Road Runners to keep my few portals up.

Meteors are more efficient and easier…but I can get them solo and without meteors.

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Plus they drop feathers!

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Are you guys really this obtuse? He said the game isn’t “solo friendly” not that it couldn’t be played solo. You know exactly what he meant, and yet you twist his argument around, and then wonder why the game isn’t more popular?

Just because you can do something solo doesn’t mean it’s efficient, or rewards progress steadily enough for the average player to enjoy and continue playing the game.

Clash of Clans and Clash Royale can be played without spending money, but that doesn’t mean you’ll make progress in any even remotely satisfactory pace.

You might think the grind is at a fine place, but clearly, based on the Steam reviews, it’s not. Boundless is NOT solo friendly.

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