Okay, I take concern with a few issues, but sadly, even if I didn't I don't have any "technical" skills that would be necessary to thoroughly contribute, they would be make or break concerns.

#1.) When you claim the world will be created by the players, does that mean nothing else exists, such as other culture's establishments? A game is more absorbent if there is some background to the world so I am assuming that you are only saying that player accessible city structure will be limited/non-existent until players create it. I.E. No NPC cities.

#2.) Please for the love of all that is holy, do not have FFA PvP with no limitations. There needs to be structure and control while still promoting a healthy game experience. Perhaps you need to join a faction before you can participate in PvP and non-faction players would be considered innocent civilians such that they would be safe from mortal injuries, their bags/purses would not be so safe. Perhaps in order to enjoy some of the advanced/elevated portions of the games being a member of a faction would be required(city building/management/etc). If you eliminate the ability to murder, kill innocents just for the sake of killing, you widen your audience capabilities greatly. Thievery should certainly exist. Perhaps you could have factions that don't necessarily strive for military power, but they ally themselves with those capable of offering their protection, aka a military focused faction. So you can Faction play without necessarily going full bore PVP.

#3.) Would your game design goals be better suited with a less mainstream player camera setup? Seeing all of those rolling hills that look just the same as the hill before it can help ruin a player's experiences in your world. If you have an angled top-down view the world will seem less repetitive while also opening up the ability to design a much more elaborate world. What I mean by this is that in a targeted design goal it is easier to have a full 3d world as you know exactly what you are providing, but if you want to provide options and vast areas for the players to experience in different light it would be better suited to cut back on the amount of the world displayed to the player at any given time. An Ultima Online vantage point rather than a Darkfall/Mortal Online. This is something I target explicitly towards newer MMO design attempts. With such a wide game design scope I feel it helps narrow the scope for you to balance out the disparity in your overall scope.

what sort of vision are you looking for??. My portfolio

[color=#1C2837][size=2]do you mean no designing the layout, or not customizing the interior? [/quote]
I just mean the layout. I fully intend players to be able to add furniture to their houses and vendors to their stores and guards to their guardhouses etc... I just don't want to kill immersion by letting people design completely wacky buildings. If you play minecraft multiplayer I'm certain you know what I mean.

[color=#1C2837][size=2]I'm just saying you should definitely open up new servers periodically[/quote]
I thought about this too, but I think that the structure upkeep will keep the world fairly fresh. And if the world is too built out and people loose that "you against all the elements feeling" I would rather build more terrain then add more servers. But who knows, the final servers may not be able to hold as many people as I am expecting and I might have to open up multiple servers if it gets popular, we'll see.

[color=#1C2837][size=2]Also, the forums you linked to don't show your game anymore..[/quote]
I, and Factions, are no longer affiliated with Golden Crown Studios. Sorry, I need to get around to updating the front page of this thread, but I have been too busy with everything else in my life, including coding ;)
And about the freeware vs pay to play, we will see.. Of course I would like to make money and my ultimate goal is not only to make a great game, but to also start my own company, but it all comes down to quality and if people will ultimately pay, or if I will hinder the game completely by asking people to pay. I will try and get a temporary website up, with forums, in the next few weeks.

[color=#1C2837][size=2]does that mean nothing else exists,[/quote]
That is pretty much what I mean, there may be some very limited pre-made historical artifacts or something for the player to explore other than wilderness, but there will be absolutely nothing in the way of NPC towns or pre made NPCs etc...
I have also been trying to figure out a way to make a "history book" feature possible eventually, where people can sort of follow the progress of civilization in the new world and get up to speed on the "story so far" so there will hopefully naturally be villians and heros among the players.

[color=#1C2837][size=2]) Please for the love of all that is holy, do not have FFA PvP with no limitations.[/quote]
I know exactly what youre saying about structure and limitations. There will need to be alot of testing done with a few different systems to determine what "feels" right, but here are some of my ideas... An "afterlife" system where a player who routinely kills innocents or kills a player multiple times in a short time period will be marked as evil, when they die they will lose XP and skills etc based on how evil they have been. Of course if you or your faction has declared war on another person or faction, these rules might be amended.
And there will be a full rules system in place supporting alliances, automatic consequences if rules are broken and granual control over who has what rules applied to them. This will certainly allow for alliances and protectorates, right of pasage agreements, non-aggression pacts etc...

[color=#1C2837][size=2]Would your game design goals be better suited with a less mainstream player camera setup?[color=#1C2837][size=2] [/quote]
Very interesting ideas there.. I didn't think of that at all. I am leaning towards the fact that most MMO players will be able to adjust and relate with the traditional MMO camera angle. With user interface ideas, I find it better to stick with the genre norm, but I will definitely need to put some more thought into that!

Thanks so much to both of you for your great input!!!

[color=#1C2837][size=2]what sort of vision are you looking for??. My portfolio

[/quote]
Very nice character work, but I find a few problems here in relation to the art director position I am trying to fill. #1 3500 polys is not really a "indie MMO" friendly count. You need to remember, I do not have a AAA graphics engine to work with and that count is 2 or 3 times higher then what I would need for Factions' characters (obviously you could lower the poly count if needed). The biggest concern is that you seem to be only focused on characters, I need someone who has done some static objects, characters, terrain, GUI images, texturing etc... I need to find someone who really has creative ideas in all aspects of artwork and really has the desire to create an entire world from the ground up graphically.

[color="#1C2837"]do you mean no designing the layout, or not customizing the interior?

I just mean the layout. I fully intend players to be able to add furniture to their houses and vendors to their stores and guards to their guardhouses etc... I just don't want to kill immersion by letting people design completely wacky buildings. If you play minecraft multiplayer I'm certain you know what I mean.

[color="#1C2837"]I'm just saying you should definitely open up new servers periodically[/quote]
I thought about this too, but I think that the structure upkeep will keep the world fairly fresh. And if the world is too built out and people loose that "you against all the elements feeling" I would rather build more terrain then add more servers. But who knows, the final servers may not be able to hold as many people as I am expecting and I might have to open up multiple servers if it gets popular, we'll see.

[color="#1C2837"]Also, the forums you linked to don't show your game anymore..[/quote]
I, and Factions, are no longer affiliated with Golden Crown Studios. Sorry, I need to get around to updating the front page of this thread, but I have been too busy with everything else in my life, including coding ;)
And about the freeware vs pay to play, we will see.. Of course I would like to make money and my ultimate goal is not only to make a great game, but to also start my own company, but it all comes down to quality and if people will ultimately pay, or if I will hinder the game completely by asking people to pay. I will try and get a temporary website up, with forums, in the next few weeks.

[color="#1C2837"]does that mean nothing else exists,[/quote]
That is pretty much what I mean, there may be some very limited pre-made historical artifacts or something for the player to explore other than wilderness, but there will be absolutely nothing in the way of NPC towns or pre made NPCs etc...
I have also been trying to figure out a way to make a "history book" feature possible eventually, where people can sort of follow the progress of civilization in the new world and get up to speed on the "story so far" so there will hopefully naturally be villians and heros among the players.

[color="#1C2837"]) Please for the love of all that is holy, do not have FFA PvP with no limitations.[/quote]
I know exactly what youre saying about structure and limitations. There will need to be alot of testing done with a few different systems to determine what "feels" right, but here are some of my ideas... An "afterlife" system where a player who routinely kills innocents or kills a player multiple times in a short time period will be marked as evil, when they die they will lose XP and skills etc based on how evil they have been. Of course if you or your faction has declared war on another person or faction, these rules might be amended.
And there will be a full rules system in place supporting alliances, automatic consequences if rules are broken and granual control over who has what rules applied to them. This will certainly allow for alliances and protectorates, right of pasage agreements, non-aggression pacts etc...

[color="#1C2837"]Would your game design goals be better suited with a less mainstream player camera setup?[color="#1C2837"] [/quote]
Very interesting ideas there.. I didn't think of that at all. I am leaning towards the fact that most MMO players will be able to adjust and relate with the traditional MMO camera angle. With user interface ideas, I find it better to stick with the genre norm, but I will definitely need to put some more thought into that!

Thanks so much to both of you for your great input!!!

[color="#1C2837"]what sort of vision are you looking for??. My portfolio

[/quote]
Very nice character work, but I find a few problems here in relation to the art director position I am trying to fill. #1 3500 polys is not really a "indie MMO" friendly count. You need to remember, I do not have a AAA graphics engine to work with and that count is 2 or 3 times higher then what I would need for Factions' characters (obviously you could lower the poly count if needed). The biggest concern is that you seem to be only focused on characters, I need someone who has done some static objects, characters, terrain, GUI images, texturing etc... I need to find someone who really has creative ideas in all aspects of artwork and really has the desire to create an entire world from the ground up graphically.
[/quote]

well, good luck to you then. Having dedicated members on your team is extremely tough

Yup I agree, and I should clarify, my last remarks might have come off the wrong way, I was fishing for more variety in your work examples. Your characters are very good looking and shows good creativity. Do you have experience doing static objects, architecture, terrain? Can you provide a couple examples of other things you have done? Or Would you be willing to be a dedicated character artist for the project?
Hope to hear back from you!

I edited the original post. Still looking for more programmers, 3D artists, 2D artist currently.
If someone feels inclined to help us with a nice looking website, we could also use help there.
I am also pleased to announce that Ray Crabtree has joined as the team's art director again!

Also, just posted an advertisement in the original post for Content Manager. This has the potential of being a very creative job, or a very utilitarian job depending on how involved you want to get. Hope I can find someone to fill all these positions =)

Content Manager
The game is in such a state that much more content could be introduced, more trees, rocks, buildings, terrain, etc.. etc... however I simply do not have the time to organize the assets and code them in to the game. This person would be responsible for doing this. You should have at least a little programming or scripting exposure. I can, and will need to, train you on how to add the assets to the game. This would be an especially good fit for a beginning programmer or an "idea man" who does not currently have a refined skill, but would like to get some experience working with a team. It is a completely sandbox game, there is no premade towns or premade NPCs or premade missions etc... We are providing tools to the players, and a terrain to play with the tools. You would be actually adding the trees, rocks, buildings, fauna, etc... into the game code so they could dynamically show up in the world and be placed and built by players.

Also, just posted an advertisement in the original post for Content Manager. This has the potential of being a very creative job, or a very utilitarian job depending on how involved you want to get. Hope I can find someone to fill all these positions =)

Content Manager
The game is in such a state that much more content could be introduced, more trees, rocks, buildings, terrain, etc.. etc... however I simply do not have the time to organize the assets and code them in to the game. This person would be responsible for doing this. You should have at least a little programming or scripting exposure. I can, and will need to, train you on how to add the assets to the game. This would be an especially good fit for a beginning programmer or an "idea man" who does not currently have a refined skill, but would like to get some experience working with a team.

That's nice. You should know that's my job on many teams. I am lead designer on one actually. I moderate the art and assets and direct the team to make sure everything goes smoothly. I also make sure game mechanics are working as well as I am in charge of the features to make the game unique. Overall you could say I run the project without being the owner. If you would like to talk, assaulth3ro911@hotmail.com

Sincerely,
Michael

email sent to you, anyone else who may be interested in this position, do not hesitate to respond also. Thanks!

This position is still available, if anyone is interested, please let me know! Thanks

Content Manager
The game is in such a state that much more content could be introduced, more trees, rocks, buildings, terrain, etc.. etc... however I simply do not have the time to organize the assets and code them in to the game. This person would be responsible for doing this. You should have at least a little programming or scripting exposure. I can, and will need to, train you on how to add the assets to the game. This would be an especially good fit for a beginning programmer or an "idea man" who does not currently have a refined skill, but would like to get some experience working with a team. It is a completely sandbox game, there is no premade towns or premade NPCs or premade missions etc... We are providing tools to the players, and a terrain to play with the tools. You would be actually adding the trees, rocks, buildings, fauna, etc... into the game code so they could dynamically show up in the world and be placed and built by players.