I really wanna make an rpg server but don't know what direction would be best

[Drydess]

I've tried to make a Runescape-like one multiple times before, but it always failed due to my arrogance of not wanting help.

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[Regirock]

Just make a family rog using AMC city then say you're giving administration to the first 3 people. Guaranteed crowded server.
 

[IkeTheGeneric]

I've tried to make a Runescape-like one multiple times before, but it always failed due to my arrogance of not wanting help.

I've tried a couple times before but my problem is that I get too far ahead of myself quickly and burn out

[Ravencroft·]

Anything that isn't oriented around grinding. So many RPG servers over the years always seem to fail because there's way too much grinding involved.

[IkeTheGeneric]

Anything that isn't oriented around grinding. So many RPG servers over the years always seem to fail because there's way too much grinding involved.

It's really all about the allure of the trade-off. Grinding is a gameplay padding technique that's simple as forget and easy to throw into the mix. Technically it's a great idea because it can help balance out gameplay and make pacing easier.

For an example, progression in most early RPGs was grind until you hit a wall and then you progress. The problem is that this system has been used since the late 80s, so it's going to take a literal miracle to figure out how to revolutionize with grinding.

To put it simpler, a lot of people rely on grinding to give your RPG more substance. It's definitely harder to make the game have more depth to make up for the lack of time spent not grinding, but the effort put into making a server this way definitely pays out better. I can whole-heartidly agree with you that grinding sucks for the player. It's almost never fun unless you specifically like games with lots of grinding.

From what I've seen and studied, people will be drawn en masse to a grind-y rpg simply because the idea of being able to explore the mechanics and depth of the grind is actually fun in it's own way. That novelty is lost after they realize that an early grind leads to a late-game grind and there isn't a clear progression in gameplay.

The problem I would face is trying to implement a resource and economy-driven community without having the players gruel through a pointless grind. I have a lot of ideas and I'm definitely going to find a way to make it so it isn't a dull grind and I'm going to need input every so few steps along the way.

[Shift Kitty]

Anything that isn't oriented around grinding. So many RPG servers over the years always seem to fail because there's way too much grinding involved.

This.

You don't even have to 'remove grinding' from it at all. Just stop making it the main focus. Progression is nice. When you're progressing by actually doing things and to be able to do more things later. Not by botting the same 10 nodes for a day just so you can have higher numbers than everyone else in the end.

[IkeTheGeneric]

I'd imagine I would set it up so you start off at a slow grind and slowly progress at an accelerated rate until you reach a point where you can automate simpler tasks to allow you to deal with late-game tasks.

For example in a standard RPG environment, going from cutting down trees for money to having enough money coming in every tick to be able to purchase lumber, or set up an automated process that generates lumber regardless of player input.

This way if I had a crafting system, I could have more costy crafting recipes late-game that almost require you to automate instead of grind just because it would be more efficient, pushing players to make the difficulty curve rather than ignore it like you see with a lot of CityRPGs and the plethora of lumberjacks staying lumberjacks to avoid having to make the game more difficult for themselves.

[Shift Kitty]

Not exactly what I had in mind but that idea's still leagues better than any RPG that's been hosted so far.

[Drydess]

The way to deal with grinding not being a main thing is putting the focus onto quests and exploration. Build the map large, make it change. Add a sense of adventure into it rather than competing to be the best, or to "win" the game. If need be, make it a sandbox RPG with no "end-game" in it, just getting better. Sort of WoW-esque.
Completely removing the ability to grind would cause problems with public opinion.

[Shift Kitty]

Or add features to it. Some features don't unlock till certain points in your progression. Some expand upon progressing.

Like for example... crafting.
"oh i'm level 15 i can start crafting things"
"oh i'm level 25, i can start using my crafting skills to put slots in items"
or guilds
"hey look, i'm level 40, i can start my own guild"
"nice, my guild is level 5 now, i can get a guild hall now"

[IkeTheGeneric]

Part of building a good RPG would be to give every kind of player some sort of meaningful experience. That's one of the core principles of Bartle's Taxonomy.

Like I said previously, there are plenty of people who love the grind with all their heart, and what I might end up doing is allowing a completely optional branch of gameplay to be achieved through a sheer grind.

If I balance it right, it would allow people who enjoy the grind to do what they love while everyone else progresses in a way they feel is fun.

How combat could be handled is a different beast altogether and I've been wracking my brain on it trying to find a solution.

[Shift Kitty]

There isn't much that can be done about combat at all if you're only using events.

[Drydess]

There isn't much that can be done about combat at all if you're only using events.

You can do pretty well with advanced VCE, but modeling and all requires work, as well as certain other things.

[IkeTheGeneric]

There isn't much that can be done about combat at all if you're only using events.

Believe it or not I've seen people work some event magic on combat skills

[Im_AFK]

grinding will forever be an unending curse, because once you remove substitute it, then your solution becomes the next grind