My Ideal Space MMO Wiki

Welcome to My Ideal Space MMO
This is a Wiki where I will compile and organize my ongoing ideas for the perfect fleet-based space MMO, inspired by Star Trek.

Introduction
There have always been essentially two types of MMOs. The first, commonly known as the 'sandbox', is a digital world in which players are free to have their characters roam the virtual world at will; socializing, hunting, fighting, resource-gathering, and crafting essentially wherever and whenever they want (the first incarnation of Star Wars Galaxies is a good example of this).

The second, the 'theme park', is a world of scripted adventures (some instanced, some not), that players undertake to earn badges and rewards (I hear WoW is a good example of this). These are akin to mini-stories, which provide the player with a sort of narrative against which to judge their overall success.

Similarly, there are two common types of MMO players: Roleplayers, and Achievers (I don't think either one needs to be defined here).

MMO developers try to cater to both groups, and their games always try to strike a balance between the 'sandbox' and 'theme park' styles. But both have their faults, and neither type of player is 'right'.

'Sandbox' games are often criticized by the Achiever types as having 'nothing to do' - no directed content to tell them what they 'should' be doing. So they grind levels, and complain that the game is boring. Possibly as a result, the Roleplayers can be heard complaining that no one is actually roleplaying (and with everyone simply grinding away, what's there to roleplay about?). 'Theme park' games, on the other hand, have too much story, railroading players into a script that they may not agree with. The achievements in these games ring false, as every other player is completing the exact same missions.

So, where's the drama? It's already there... and it doesn't require any programming or code:

It's the players.

My model for a Star Trek (or any) MMO is based on one fundamental principle, upon which everything else hangs:

''' When your character dies, they are dead. It's time to make a new character .'''

All of the excitement, sadness, anger, joy, and drama stem from this one simple fact...

Table of Contents

 * Character Creation
 * Factions
 * Active Duty
 * Communication
 * Starships
 * Starfighters
 * Facilities
 * Endgame
 * Death

To-Do List
&quot;Stubs&quot;, &quot;Wanted Articles&quot;.