One of the most important things for a game, especially a MMO is how quickly it gets people hooked. It is what keeps people playing for years and makes a game something people talk about. If you played Earth and Beyond near the start of it, it was probably the story. For games like Everquest and Ultima Online, its the drive to get higher levels and better equipment. So what about this game will get people hooked, what will keep them signing on day after day?

My personal opinion is that it's going to be the live events and the players ability to effect the game world. No other MMO does this, so if this one can pull it off they will be set.

For me it's the mixing of fps style action with role playing. I haven't found anywhere else that offers real fps combat action along with things like robust ship configs and charactor development. The story will enhance these aspects for me but I'm more interested in Role Playing in a FPS style persistant universe.

As far as after the hook has worn off, I'll be looking forward to major universe events like alien invasions and what-not.

This is silly but the game reminds me a lot of this old Apple ][ game based on GURPS Autoduel. I think it was called Auto Duel and was probably an Origin game.

Anyway the base of the game was you get a cheap car (ec-88) and take courier missions (trade missions) or compete in the demolition derby (combat missions) to earn money to buy a better car.

Also the harder the missions you completed the more you became trusted with higher value missions (faction standing).

The action of the game was driving your car between towns (stations) and fighting bandits (pirates) after your cargo. You might very well choose your car based on the mission you were taking (have enough cargo space? need mines for running? heavy rocket for not running?)

In town you could look for cargo runs or buy items to enhance your vehicle.

If Auto Duel was 3D, in space, multi-player, spaceships instead of cars and written by guild I think it would be Vendetta.

Historically it's been mostly combat skill, and improving PvP. This is obviously not true for everyone... but a lot of people kept playing to improve/enjoy/whatever their Dueling/Pirating/Hunting/Fighting skills.

Speaking as someone who began playing a few years ago, I think the main thing is the twitch-based combat. This will be more evident again when the universe is more populated.

After that I think it would be group missions into enemy territory, and live events. Better equipment will likely be a part of it as expansion packs are released. We'll all be awaiting the big ships, manned turrets, and the possibility of player-constructed stations.

I remember Auto Duel. I had it for the Atari ST. A cooler version was Interstate 76 for the PC. I loved those games.

What a question ! I've been thinking about it most of the morning, and I can't put
my finger on the answer. It seems to me that I've been playing about two years.
Is that possible? When I started there were very few sectors, very few ships and
the only weapons I remember were the red, green and blue lasers and ions. Does
anyone out there have an approximate idea when that was?

At any rate, I recall that I was "hooked" from the first minute I logged on. Since that time I have played almost every day. No matter how pissed-off I got, and no
matter what it was that pissed me off, I was always back the next day. What ever
it may be that hooked me, one thing is certain: IT REALLY WORKED !!!

what hooks(ed) me is that Vendetta is like Wing Commander/Privateer multiplayer. And it runs on linux natively. :D

Heh, I was hooked nearly from the moment I exited the station for the first time and was greeted by the vast depth of the starfield.

Within my first hour of gameplay I remember thinking holy crap, I've been waiting for a game like this ever since I started reading science fiction.

What keeps me coming back are the other players that share experiences in and give life to this virtual universe and the dev team that has shown unparalleled dedication and interaction with their userbase.

I think it's the nicotine.

-Heh i remember the first time i played, undocked out of the station, saw some glowy things comin rite at me, then bang, got destroyed by homestar runner.
The thing that got me hooked on this game was when busmaster helped me out and i wanted to try to become at least a vet.

#1-I play because I like how skill based the flying is. I can't fly well yet, and I am hooked by things I'm bad at/want to improve.

#2-the community rocks. some people in vendetta just make my day

#3-the pretty scenery :D

#4-the updates. nothing ever "gets old". there is always something to look forward to, to drool after. looking at how many features may be post-release...*big grin* vendetta will never lose its novelty.

#5-the infinite roles to play. there are no set roles to choose from; you can be anything you want in vendetta, even if it may take a while for other people to recognize what you think you are.

I like ven because of the space flight & fight, but also due to the sheer vastness of the game's universe.
The community is (partially) also a reason why i log on at all presently (what with content lacking. but i can wait!)

what has me hooked is the huge potential of the game, the flight model that reminds me so much of the old elite/wing commander/descent controls, and a large par is the great feedback and response that the devs give us, the testers.

With the game set in the depths of space, expanding the universe to fit more the players can be done without a large amount of backstory, (i remember UO splitting into trammel & fellucia, what a friggin joke that was)

For me, after very little thought, it has been flying upside down. No other game has ever offered this delight and I doubt any other game could possibly carry it out properly.

To constantly be confused and disoriented has kept me coming back for more, day after day!

:-)

All kidding aside, the sheer beauty and functionality of the game hooked me from day one.

For me, it was the ability to stop my ship completely and then go backwards.

I think the ability to be amongst friends is part of it. I mean, my best friend introduced me to the test before I even had my computer. This community is like a second family to me, even with its social misfits and nutcases *cough*Jm262*cough*Lemming*cough* :D You all have been great.

Of course, what *really* did it for me was the devs not just working in the background, but actually being part of the playing process. This made the test much more meaningful and each and every time they dropped into the game or into IRC a good time was had. I only hope they can continue to do this after release.

I was totally hooked from day one. I also loved the fact that there was this game that my whole family could play at the same time. Because it offers more than role-playing and more than fps action it has a little something for everyone in the family that loves to play.

Many a night has been spent drinking beer and playing vendetta. Shouting from room to room trying to figure out where people are. Changing nations so we could blow each other up, or defend each other from other players. Getting on at two in the morning and defending the flag because no other sercos were on. I could go on forever.....

Carmen

Interesting replies. They aren't exactly what I was looking for, but still interesting to hear why the people playing are hooked. Let me try and clarify my question a bit.

What I am curious about is what the people playing the game think will be the hook that gets others to play. This leads into two other questions I have.
1) When this product goes live, what will get people to play this (amd stay playing) instead of SWG - Jump To Lightspeed and Eve? In particular JTL. It is going to be action based space combat.
2) If you had to pick one thing that you feel is lacking or will hurt it's chances against EVE and JTL, what would it be? (Try to pick something related to actual gameplay, not the size of the development staff for example).

For me it was flag capping that got me hooked (and the large fights that ensued). Too bad its gone (hint! hint!).

My undying curiosity demands I inquire about the purpose of this question-asking of yours. So.. Yes. What for?

As for answers, I'm afraid I can't provide any, seeing how I know nothing about those other, obviously lesser, games you spoke of.

My purpose of these questions is to find out what the people playing this game feel are the strengths and weaknesses of Vendetta. Why do I want to know that? Isn't always good to know the strengths and weaknesses of things you are a part of?