I know there is runescape and albion but is there anything else, or are those the only small file sized ones for pc?
most mmorpgs take up like 50gb+ of storage which i dont understand, are there any smaller file sized one or retro ones that are still playable? is so feel free to suggest some and what makes them so good. i like mmorpg i just dont have the storage for them.
Ultima Online is a 25 year old MMO that still has the original servers running. The install is about 3GB and can run on any PC from the last 20 years. For the official servers, the player base is largest on Atlantic and you can sign up for a free Endless Journey account. PVP is only allowed in certain zones.
There are many many player run servers that fit a lot of play styles. The most populated being Outlands. That is where I mainly play as it is by far the most populated UO server, 2.5k-3k people on usually. Just beware, outside of the starting zone and towns, it is open PVP almost everywhere.
City of Heroes now has player run servers. The install is around 5GB. Homecoming is the most populated, with a lot of added content. Rebirth is less populated but tries to be the closest experience to the official servers.
Likewise, Everquest is still running, including some semi-official EQ-classic servers. Server population might be measured in hundreds – a far cry from the 500k peak in 2002.
Lord of the Rings Online is about 26Gb.
Star Trek Online is also roughly at the same ballpark as LOTRO.
Guild Wars 1 is about 5Gb.
Secret World Legends also this one, about 10Gb.
They are all decent, and fun to play if they’re your jam, some are more pay-to-win than others, like Star Trek Online. Some are a bit on the older side, like Guild Wars 1 being from 2005 though.
Used to play Guild War 1, got back into it for a while around 10 years ago. I should still have my original login somewhere…
Book of Travels describes their game as a TMORPG (Tiny Multiplayer Online RPG).
Essentially you get put into a server populated mainly by the world’s NPCs and you will occasionally stumble across other players, who you communicate with not by text but with this kind of lexicon of emotes. You can team up to combined specialized skills to unlock areas or complete different puzzles etc. The lack of chat creates a lot less pressure with the social interactions, which is nice. It’s a bit like Journey in that way, if you’ve ever played that.
It’s a very unique style of game, the design is beautiful and the world feels very rich even for an Early Access title. But it’s also very meditative and encourages you to take your time just enjoying the scenery and exploring, so if you’re looking for a really action oriented game it might not be your thing.
Man, I wish I could play Journey for the first time, again.
Yeah, I went in pretty much blind because that’s how everyone said to play it and it was a surprisingly emotional experience.
I’m really intrigued by this! How long do you need to play for it to feel “meaningful.” I find with a lot of MMOs, I need a few hours to really get into it.
I think it maybe took an hour or so for me to get sucked in to what they were going for, but the answer to your question would depend on your mood and what you consider meaningful.
The best way I can describe it is if MMOs aimed at maximizing your engagement through grinding, min-maxing, leveling etc. are like drinking coffee, then BoT is more like drinking tea – there’s still some caffeine there in regards to a progression system and a bit of combat, but the real joy is found in lingering and taking the long road round, or detouring to talk to some NPC you spot in the forest or other random encounters. It’s kind of like an interactive painting in that the experience of moving through the world is a central part of the draw.
The game is very friendly but does not hold your hand in terms of goals, even the very first major quest is not put right in front of your face, you’re more meant to uncover it. Something else is that you eventually realize that it’s a good habit to jot down notes if people say something that sounds interesting or notable, because their dialogue might not always be the same.
When I initially played, I actually did not go really hard at exploring every part of the world, because at that time there was still a lot of the map not yet open (still a large map at that point though). They are still building out the world now, and I was actually about to hop back in myself since it’s been a year or so since I last played and they’ve released several updates since then.
Not sure if that answered your question at all.
You answered it very well. Thank you!
Project Gorgon 20GB. Very old school, skill based, slow paced, made by 2 indie devs that worked on things like Asheron’s Call, Star Trek Online, etc.
They’ve now got a whole 3 devs!
+1 for PG. My favorite mmo by far.
Dungeons and Dragons Online is 32gb.
RuneScape (both old school and modern version) are MMOs that use very little space, at most only a gig or two “cache” is downloaded.
Here’s one that most of you have probably not heard of. Monster Hunter Frontier.
MHF was a Monster Hunter MMO that ran from 2007 to 2019 and was exclusive to Asia. Recently, a dedicated team of community members have managed to revive it with community servers.
It is brutally difficult, only partially translated, and has some genuinely awful controls, BUT
It’s only around 6GB and completely free.
If for some reason you want to try it I highly recommend joining the rain server, as it is the most populated and stable one. They also have a setup guide for how to install on their discord server I recommend you use.
this sounds awesome, thanks!
EDIT: think i found the discord https://discord.com/invite/BSYusKW7Ps
I don’t know about that first link but yup, that’s the discord link! Sorry I was on my phone so I didn’t put a link in my comment
Well, there’s Tibia, and there’s MapleStory
hears MapleStory in passing and shakes his fist in the air like an old geezer “Damn that game for popularizing microtransactions!”, shuffles on by holding his hip
But my chair is so COOL!
i will have to check those games out sometime.
What about MUDs? I haven’t played them myself but would love to try one afternoon.
The Wheel of Time MUD is amazing.
discworld mud is quite good, it has also been around for quite a while.
Realm of the Mad God is a fun little roguelike MMO.
Ragnarok online on a private server if you don’t mind a bit of clunk. Very bright and colourful anime art and kickass soundtrack.
I played RO back in high school. Haven’t thought about that game in 20 years. I might have to check it out again.
i’m definitively done with WoW, but i remember having a good time with the classless private server Ascension. The gimmick is that you put together a build of not just talents, but spells too, so you could be an archer that uses frost effects instead of snares and a pet, or a sword and shield combatant that uses shadow magic. I think they’re on the TBC expansion, but using a Wotlk client atm, which means it takes up very little harddrive space.
I believe you are actually looking for a SmolMORPG
I’m currently playing on one of many wow private servers. Wotlk client, blizzlike 1x experience, and it’s only 7GB
Always project1999 with its decent sized community if you want a very small retro mmorpg.
