So you want to make an MMORPG?

A Knol about the various aspects of MMORPGS and their development.

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Some people, such as myself, have spent a good deal of time trying to find more information about MMORPGs, how they work, and most importantly, how to make one. I have found the answers to my questions and I thought I would share them with the world. Below is a basic table of contents of what I will be going over in this Knol.

I. What is an MMORPG?

II. How do MMORPGs work?

III. How can I make an MMORPG?

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I. What is an MMORPG?

This is a commonly answered question, but sometimes people just don't know. MMORPG stads for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. These games offer various genres and can have literally hundreads of thousands of users all running around in the same game world doing whatever the game offers them to do. Some of these games take place in medieval fantasy settings where players battle dragons and go on large scale quests. Some of these games are placed thousands of years into the future and focus around space travel, players run missions and harvest space minerals and battle space bandits and whatnot. MMORPGs are the new addiction of our generation.

Want to play an MMORPG? For a list of the most popular titles go here : http://mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm

II. How do MMORPGs work?

Basically the MMORPG is hosted on a central server(s) and the player downloads and installs a client which is then used to connect to the server. The server stores all the information about every player and every monster and everything in the game. When i server begins to slow down this is called Lag, which is a common but very annoying nuisance to MMORPG players. The central goal in an MMORPG is power. This goal is achieved by reaching maximum levels, massing unimaginable amounts of ingame money, attacking and defeating rivals, or through various other means.

III. How can I make an MMORPG?

This is the question I had been wanting to have the answer for since I was a small child watching my cousins roam around in the seeming endlessness of their online MMORPGs that they played.

When it comes down to it, there are 2 main types of MMORPGs that you can make: 2D or 3D. A 2D MMORPG is definately easier to make then a 3D MMORPG. The use of Game Engines helps to speed up the development time of MMORPGs dramatically.

2D MMORPG Engines:

Eclipse http://www.freemmorpgmaker.com/index.php

Eclipse is a commonly used 2D MMORPG Engine which comes with everything you need to make your MMORPG, all you do is go into the editors, make your maps, set up how characters and monsters work, put them into the game and there you have it. This engine has alot of spin offs which I will not put. This engine has a forum which can help you in the game development. For people skilled in coding there is a source version available for further customization.

XtremeWorlds http://xtremeworlds.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

Basically the same thing as Eclipse but I believe it has more features and is a less common engine then Eclipse which would probobly make it a better choice.

Chaos Engine http://www.graveyardstudios.co.nr/

This engine is a customized engine which runs similar to eclipse, although it comes with different, if not limited, features, definately worth a shot.

Elysium Source http://www.splamm.com/elysium/

Similar also to the eclipse engine. Has a source version for further customization.

3D MMORPG Engines:

Realmcrafter http://www.realmcrafter.com/

My personal favorite. This engine was the answer to my prayers. Not only is this engine priced dramatically lower then its competitors, it offers a more advanced, user friendly, and speedy interface, along with multiple editors to create everything from trees and rocks to the gui and the terrain in your game. There are 2 versions of Realmcrafter. The Standard Version which runs on DirectX7, it is the current and stable version with games currently being developed on it, and soon in the future the Pro version of Realmcrafter will be released, which runs of DirectX9 and has all the eyecandy you could ask for. This engine allows for source modification to make your ultimate unique MMORPG. I would say that through all my searching this is the Ultimate MMORPG Creation Engine.

Torque http://www.garagegames.com/developer/torque/tse/

A more advanced game engine which requires a good amount of knowledge of programming. This engine is more expensive and difficult to work with than Realmcrafter and does not come with the tools which RC offers.

Multiverse http://www.multiverse.net/index.html

This game engine, while it does have alot of the bells and whistles, has one downside that I have noticed. They charge royalites on profits. Realmcrafter does not do this. So you can make a MMORPG with this engine that looks good, (Might require additional programming) but if you make any money they you have to pay the Multiverse creators.

Additionally you can find nearly EVERY 3D Game engine here : http://www.devmaster.net/engines/list.php

and even more game engines here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_game_engines

But after you spend countless hours searching for something that fits you, take my word for it and download the demo of Realmcrafter.

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To make an MMORPG you will need development software. Everything must be created. You will need 3D modeling programs, Graphical programs (IE: Photoshop), animation software, and so much more. Here are a list of various programs that will help you with your MMORPG development

The Game Creators http://thegamecreators.com/

This place is your one stop shop for all your game development needs, but there is a catch : you gotta pay for every single program you use. Although they are cheap individually, the sheer amount of programs and the cost for each one adds up quick, BUT they are very good programs and are worth the money if you got the money to spend.

Milkshape http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/index.html

This is the 3D modeling program that I have grown up with. It creates low poly models and exports them to a ton of various game formats, including the one for Realmcrafter (.b3d) This program also has basic animation functionality.

Fragmotion http://www.fragmosoft.com/

This animation program is perfect for rigging player models with a list of animations quickly and effectively.

The Gimp http://www.gimp.org/

This graphical manipulation program (similar to photoshop) is a FREE and effective program for making ingame textures and loading screens and any other 2D art.

Wood Workshop http://www.spiralgraphics.biz/ww_overview.htm

This FREE program makes wood textures which can be used throughout your MMORPG, and did I mention its FREE?

Additionaly here is a large list off the Realmcrafter Forums of some various software which could help in game development ( special thanks to everyone who made this list)

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