User blog comment:ChishioKunrin/How much work would go into a RWBY MMO?/@comment-25555436-20150911195523

One thing that must be said, or said twice for the noobs, is that MMOs are hard to make. However, there are things that can be done to make it less extenuating or difficult while at the same time not being cheap or dull (though maybe lazy).

-Regarding the World:

Chish, you said you wanted this to be like GW2, where you create a character and explore the world while progressing through a story. Now that would be more difficult here in RWBY, especially since in the show they only make the areas they need for their scenes, not the entire damn Remnant at once. And even if we grabbed all the scenes regarding Vale and put them together, it would still be far smaller than it truly is.

However, I got some ideas for how to work around it, although the result may not be like GW2:

1-Since players are going to be Hunters, put them in Beacon or something. That means, making the whole academy, adding the already-finished areas like the Dining Hall so they would just have to make the rest. However, also make some areas not explorable, where it would make sense. For example, no one should be able to enter Ozpin's office anytime they want. He's a very busy man.

2-Also make Vale, with some NPCs walking around and multiple shops being visible, but not interacteable. Unless they sell Hunter-related goods, in which case one can buy things in them, like Dust or some secondary weapon like grenades. Maybe add a few practice enemies in specific, barely populated areas.

3-Everywhere else, can't be entered. Unless, you choose a mission. Based of Warframe's system for maps, one would just have to make multiple specific areas, which the PC would place randomly when one starts a mission, so replaying a mission would make players go through a different map, even if the areas look the same. Possibly add some random events that can happen when loading an area.

Exceptions would be in specific missions or events, which happen in very specific areas and as such load a predetermined, not-random map. Like a Breach-like event would load an alternative version of Vale, which would be the same no matter how many times you replay the mission, although you may start it in a different area.

4-Now, you may say, "what about Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas"? I say, "leave that to expansions and patches". After Vale and Beacon are done, the devs can try to create something similar involving another kingdom and academy. Players may choose to start there and undergo a different story. During some events, allow players to visit other academies and challenge their students to duels and shop in it's city. Like in the show.

-Regarding weapons and styles

Everyone wants to make their Edge Master use their Spear-Sword-Shield-Canon-Rocket-Lasergun-Knife-Scimitar, yes....but of course, customization, or better said creation of weapons would be too complex for that. I got some ideas. From cheapest to most expensive:

1-Each player must choose from a specific weapon style, which they can't alter. But, they can modify the weapon's appearance.

2-Each player chooses a specific weapon style, which grants specific attacks and stuff. Later, they can upgrade it to another set of specific weapon styles or keep it the same way, gaining new attacks. For example, you start with a sword and shield, learn how to use them, and later can choose between turning the sword into a gunsword, or keep it a sword, while learning new attacks based on the chosen one.

3-Each player can make their character use multiple weapons and styles even if they are vastly different, such as Spear+Dust Clothing+Pistol. Each weapon provides a limited amount of attacks, which must be learned by the player via Expertise. Basically, at first with a spear you can barely do more than stab, but keep using that spear, and you can learn to do more than that. Meanwhile, if you never use your gun or Dust, you could still shoot with it, but don't expect to learn how to do any fancy shots soon, and you could still try to use spells, but won't be able to perform any devastating firestorm so soon.

This is how I feel it should be. Players choose what they want, and the number of weapons/styles to choose from would be big, though nothing too crazy (no 11 weapons at once, about a max of 4 weapons/styles seems fine to me), if they want to use Dust clothing+spear+gun, but only to start. After making the character, it would begin with those things, but the player later develops as they see fit, focusing on what they choose to focus on.

To counter a bit of it's expensiveness, each weapon or style chosen only grants a pretty limited number of attacks (in the case of Dust, learn new types of spells, such as learning how to make a wall of X). However, more attacks can be added via updates and expansions.

-Regarding Semblances:

I had an idea for that. Basically, after completing a specific mission, players gain their Semblance. At this point, players choose what their Semblance will be. They choose a specific ability from a large set of abilities, including some shared by the Main characters here. However, they can then modify the ability in multiple ways, such as changing the range, the speed, the power, the visual effects, add additional effects, and other things.

For example, I choose Dash, like Ruby. However, instead of vanishing in rose petals, I would simply run from X to Y, being practically invisible while at it due to the speed but leaving behind a blur like Sonic. Or, cause a small, weak explosion of blue fire both when starting the dash.

Or, I choose something like Sun, create a clone and send it flying to it's inminent death. However, instead of a light clone that can't do shit, I make a shadow clone a la Noob Saibot, and can instantly warp to it's location before it crashes against something. Not mentioning the other dozens of abilities I could choose instead of those 2, or the dozens of ways I could modify them, making them more unique.

Changes would carry drawbacks however, for balance's sake. For example, things like power decrease speed and vice-versa, greater range decreases speed and vice-versa, stuff like that. Adding additional effects can affect the "stats" of the base ability. For example, making a Dash cause an explosion before dashing may make the range be lower, or decrease the number of invincibility frames, stuff like that, it depends.

Regarding Character Customization:

Being able to choose between Human and Faunus is good, but in-show Faunus are obviously much superior. Humans don't have night vision or naturally-high agility or anything. And what we have, they do as well. In-game it would be best to either give exclusive, even if non-sensical bonuses to humans such as "learns attacks quicker" or something. Or even better, not give any side any bonuses and make differences cosmetic. For the sake of balance. There would already be way too many Faunus, should we give them more reasons to be them?

The real problem is with teams. You could make 4 different players become a team, but due to reasons that I think you already know that would be a bad idea. An option is that each player makes 4 characters and makes them a Team, with each character having different personalities and opinions a la Divinity: Original Sin. In which case changing between them during missions could be done.

Another option, if you opt for an alternate timeline, would be to make it so that in that timeline, Hunters are not forced to be in teams or even pairs. Though I don't like it. It would kinda make the MMO be less a RWBY MMO and more of an MMO wearing RWBY as a disguise, like the Big Bad Wolf.

-Regarding Timeline

Making it take place in an alternate timeline is obviously the right choice. And it makes some things regarding events to be possible.

For example, if you really want to make the game happen before the show even begins, you can make the FRR be one of those "players take sides and fight each other" events. Being an alternate timeline, who would complain if the humans won? (gameplay-wise anyway).

Though a better idea IMO would be to just make it happen at the same, or around the same time as the show, but either not focused on RWBY and going through a "Hero of Another Story", or one where RWBY doesn't even exist (of course, that is rather easy to justify in an alt.timeline....).

As for the CNR, since color naming would be quite a bitch, make it so that in that timeline the CNR was never invented or anything.