Idea Info Name: HomeLands MMORPG Index: Primary Category: RPG Submitted: 1/6/2003 6:13:41 PM Written By: GasMask

Please forgive me if this is not finished.

Thank you for taking the time to read this idea.  Like I said this game idea is not being done right now, and I feel it needs to happen due to the technology we have now.  Some of the details are not worked out, but if I can get some help with this, I'm sure it would be no problem.

This game is an online RPG and in it there are a four nations.  Each nation is set on a set side of the globe.  The small territory that the nations automatically have before any territory is captured are called homlands.  This is where life is usually peaceful.  This is where new players spawn and where they get a feel for the game.  If they wish, they may even take up permanent residence in the city, or build a homestead out in the country.  Deviding the homlands are huge unknown stretches of land where no one has ever journied.  Whenever player moves out into it, the area around them is considered captured for there nation.  So if you deside to make your home out in this unkown place maybe others will follow and it could turn into a boom town, thus prompting the army to guard it as it is vital for the success of the nation.

Now, I mention building homesteads, which brings me to the innovative part.  Building and making things is as important in this game as fighting monsters/animals and/or fighting other nations to keep your nation safe.  Many games have you making your own armor, but it's so cheesy.  I know I have a better way.  It may be a little trickier, and more time consuming, but it makes for a more ballanced trade system and it makes what you build sintimental to you.   

Picture this for me would you?  You start your game for the first time.  Armed with only a stone hammer, you are alone.  You want to gain some experience points and become a strong fighter, but what kind of a fighter uses a stone hammer to kill monsters?  So, with that thought in mind you know you must have a better weapon, and maybe some armor too.  You walk around for a few minutes and then you spot it.  Metal ore.  It's just one peice of the puzzel in making your new sword.  What's next?  Wood for the handle.  You look to your left and see a couple of small trees.  Perfect.  You deside that this is where you'd like to make your home.  You don't have to, but it's close to some ore, so why not, right?  In order to make your home you must have the essential materials, so you collect them and start to work.  After some time your new home is finished and you can now start on your sword.  You walk over to the metal ore patch and start harvesting it walking back to your home to store it at every full load.  Finally you have enough, and luckily you have some extra wood left from the last contruction, so at your work bench you start making your sword.  You don't have any magical items or powers to put in the weapon yet so it'll be just a standard everyday sword.  As you work on it you see a man in the distance.  Could this be another citizen of your nation?  Or is it an enemy soldier who wandered into your domain looking for a fight?  It could even be a nutrual character, looking to trade some goods.  As he draws near you finish your sword and wield it wildly and get into a combat stance.  He is now close enough to talk to you and tells you he is a of the same nation as you.  He walks up to you  holding a peice of armor and gives it to you.  He says he made the Leather armor out of fibers from plants and from the hide of animals he had killed.  Looks like you have a friend now.

This is kind of what I see when I imagine my game.  However the building aspect is much more complex then that and takes longer.  For bigger better things you will need a lot more items.

Speaking of bigger better, I see a time in this game after a few years of it's existence of persons fighting battles with muskets and even rapid firing pistols.  You see, in this game, in order to make things you must have points devoted to sertain attributes.  Strong warriors will not be able to make ingenious contraptions such as rifles or whatnot, that skill will belong to the meek.  Those who are merchants or those who use magic.  For instants, say a magi is able to make very powerful armor, but he is to week to wear it.  He could sell it and use the money for potions and things that help him out, while helping a strong fighter out as well. 

The reason I feel that having guns in the game would take a couple or more years is because you must of course earn the attribute points to make such things as well as discover the thing you need to make them.  A gun would need wood, possibly metal, black powder, and bullets of course, among other little things.  Yes you may be able to find all these things at a low level, but you won't be able to make them until you are at a level where you meet the intelectual standards.  This makes for a diverse world people with actual jobs. 

Here are the types of persons.  You have the soldier.  He fights in battles and protects his nations borders from other invading nations.  You have the peasent.  He makes things, farms, hunts, or whatever.  He's the do all guy.  Yet I feel the most important thing he does is make and sell things to the soldiers who lack the know how or time to make there items.  There are also magi, who heal or use combat type magic, and trickery.  One very important person is the nutral guy.  He cannot attack or be attacked, and so he can freely move into other territories to make money and do whatever.  The cool thing however, is the fact that any peasent can make himself nutruel.  I havn't fleshed all of the persons out at this time though.  However, I want this game to have a rank system in the armies of the nations.  I also want there to be a few guys who have aquired the rank of General to take control of there areas army and actual order troops to attack or defend or to build defences and such.  These persons would not only have to be able to fight well on there own but they'd have to have a very high level and a strong intelect.  It would really suck to have some dumb newbie ordering an attack on a huge city only to have them all get sloughtered.

That brings me to the domination part of the game.  The nations, can have peace or war.  They can make and break aliances or whatnot.  These huge disisions will be the choices of a higher rule.  Five persons will take charge of the nation and will vote on what to do with it.  However these persons will not stay in power forever.  They can be voted out by the people.  They will have a sertain time that they stay in power and then it's voting time.  If you have made the people mad or messed up on a military disision, you're gone, if you have been kind to the people and have made peice, or have conquered, your good to go for another bit of time.  I think this will make players strive to become better, and will give everyone the chance to make a difference.  Wars can be waged for years, or peace can establish trade and allow players to journy into uncharted realms.  The wars can cause quite a big disruption in the borders of a nation.  So to see how your nation is doing, you can look at a world map and witness the progression of territory capture.