To all those making an MMO...

[Gleech]

I want to admit that I am no professional, but with years of experience PLAYING MMOs, and reading the release notes, I'd like to give a few tips on how to make your game more successful, and professional.

Tip 1. MAKING AN MMO IS NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES.

Making an MMO, as said above, is NOT all fun and games. It's serious work, and people who don't take it all seriously, will have a failure of an MMO, where little people will join, because of the competition.

Tip 2. BETA TESTERS ARE FOR BETA

Beta testers are for BETA TESTING, they do NOT get to see BEFORE your first BETA release, because you still NEED to create the game before any testing can be done. This makes perfect sense in my mind, but I'll show you what I mean.

In creating a game, you'll come across something called, a version.
Any version BELOW (Note that this number may be different per thing) 0.10 is CONSTRUCTION.
Any version (Note, once again, that this can be different) 1.0 or HIGHER, is a stable release.
BETA is usually called, V1.0B, or V1.0?. Why? Well ? is the Greek symbol for BETA.

Tip 3. WHAT IS BETA?

What exactly, IS BETA, when you think about it? Well, in the gaming world, BETA comes BEFORE the official release (When the game is open to everyone), and AFTER the construction stages. BETA testers NEVER see the construction stage.

Tip 4. WHY BOTHER USING VERSIONS?

Versions are used for showing the progress of your game. Currently, my MMO is in V0.3 (Version 0.3). When writing the name of your current version, you can do it many ways,

Version [number].[number]
v[number].[number]
V[number].[number]

Just wanted to clear that up.
The change of version is generally based on if the creator of the game feels the update is big enough to leap into the next step (version).

Though, there is a trick to it. You know how normally you don't see a, "v2.53" or anything like that, in a fan created game? Well, if you want to make it REALISTIC, you have to STAY in v1 until you make a big enough update to change the version of the game. Sometimes you might even have to remake your own stuff to make it even better. Adding a little item like,
"Added ring to area"

Should NEVER bump your game up to v2.

Tip 5. WHY BOTHER MAPPING?

Doesn't matter if you're using Eclipse, Elysium Diamond, or some other type of MMO creator that uses tiles to make it, ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR MAPPING. Sticking a few grass tiles and a house and MAYBE a road, WONT ATTRACT PEOPLE. You have to REALLY get into it, and make it look realistic, so the person will WANT to play. Can't map? No problem. Usually if you go to your MMO creator's forum, they're be tutorials on how to map.

Tip 6. WHY SHOULD I NOT DO THIS ALONE?

Doing an MMO solo, is a BIIIIIG job. You have to have a LOT of time to do this, and doing it with one person creating everything is NOT going to do the trick.

MMOs are better than games like RPG Maker. With MMOs, at least, with mapping, you don't have to fling your newest updated file everywhere. Mapping, scripting, and a few others, are simple and easier to do. So don't be discouraged when you have someone join your group, and they join up to one of those positions.

Remember: All people have different talents. If YOU can't map? Find someone who can. Can't script? Try asking around, usually people on the MMO creator's forum will help you out. Need music? Some people are talented in making custom music. Need sprites? Well others can make sprites easier, faster, and better than your average person. There's more, but I've made my point.

Tip 7. WHY BOTHER MAKING A STORY?

Since when was making a story HARD?! Story making is the MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE MMO, I'd have to say. Without a story, you're just walking around fighting bad guys. I mean WHY are you fighting? What are you fight FOR? How did this all happen? Who are the signature characters and NPCs (DONT say your fan character, because if you make your fan character the most important, a lot of people will NOT wanna join your MMO)? These questions must be asked when making a story.

TIP 8. I'VE THROWN A QUICK MAP TOGETHER, PUT SOME SPRITES IN, AND DID ALL THIS IN UNDER 10 MINUTES, AM I READY TO RELEASE?

Go back, redo the map, re-edit the sprites, and, undo EVERYTHING you did in 10 under 10 minutes. Making an MMO takes TIME. I've currently been making mine for, at LEAST almost CRUD LOAD of patience.

MMO without a good team:Crumbles
MMO making short:Has little members
MMO without patience:The creator quits the job

Remember these, and try to stop them, when making an MMO.

Tp 9. I STARTED AT VERSION 1.0, WHAT NOW?

Go back to version 0.1. If you START at version 1.0, that means that your game is REALLY bad. Very little effort in updating makes people less want to play your game.

Tip 10. I HONESTLY GOT UP TO VERSION 1.0, NOW WHAT?

Start advertising! This is why you need to have a LOT done by version 1.0. When advertising, ALWAYS...

Show game play
Show a brief part of a quest
Show any special features you might have added
Show a friendly community (If you have one)
Show good mapping
Show use of music
Show a few items
SHOW STORY LINE
Show classes/jobs (The type of guys you start out as, you know, warrior, etc... its different per game)

These are really what people look for in a game. If you don't have one of these, you might want to try and work on it, either now, or in the future, BEFORE releasing your commercial for your game.
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Well I hope that helped you guys. As I said, sometimes the versions will be different per-game. It depends on how high you want to go.

I may have missed out a tip, please tell me if I did.