persistent problem: Shattered Galaxy vs. EVE Online
Persistence is a desirable quality in an online world. Players want to feel like the game world is “alive” and that their actions and the actions of other players have real consequences. Allowing players too little impact can make the world feel static, while too much could potentially break the game. If two factions are allowed to fight for territory, what happens if one faction is completely overrun? If the game’s “story” progresses, will new players just miss the earlier chapters? Let’s take a look at two examples of MMO games with persistent world elements: Shattered Galaxy and EVE Online Isk.

Shattered Galaxy

Shattered Galaxy (official site) (MMOHub review) allows players to affect the game world, but their effects are trivial. Each planet in Shattered galaxy is divided into a number of territories, ruled by one of three factions. Players from one faction can invade territories of another faction, and the battles are played out similar to an RTS, with squads of units on an isometric, 2D map. Whichever faction wins the battle owns the territory, at least until the next battle. Unfortunately, owning territory is quite unimportant. At one time, the blue faction may control half of the planet, and a few hours later it may be pushed back to a dozen territories behind its unassailable capital. Blue’s citizens are unconcerned, since those lost territories contain nothing valuable.

Shattered Galaxy tries to make holding territory more important by periodically awarding points to each faction based on the number of territories it holds. When the faction’s points reach a certain threshold, all players on that faction receive special resources for “completing the war”. The “winner’s” counter is reset to zero, and all three factions continue gaining points. Each faction takes turns winning, but no one loses and the war never ends.