We are the sum of our parts, maybe something greater, but at the very least, our experiences define who we are and the things that we enjoy. For me, my MMO preferences are colored by my earliest experiences with the genre. My first "modern" MMO was Ultima Online, and rose-colored glasses aside, I really appreciated features like non-instanced housing and personal vendors. Another shaping influence was Star Wars: Galaxies. It was one of the first (and only) games that allowed crafting to be a first-class mechanic, but which also had non-instanced housing and personal vendors, the ability to create towns, and classes like creature taming. Since those early days, the MMO feature-set has contracted in the wake of World of Warcraft, and the expansive freedom of both UO and SWG was abandoned in a quest to replicate WoW's mathematical formula of unbridled success.
What goes around, comes around, they say, and at the start of 2014 I believe we've more or less gotten past the idea that every MMO has to be made in the WoW mold, and that there's no real reason to create a "WoW killer". Tastes are varied, and with so many potential players who have never even looked at an MMO out there, developers seem to be plumbing the recesses of mechanics for something that can appeal to those who were just never enticed by the WoW formula. This includes revisiting the old influences like UO and SWG, and both are represented in The Repopulation.
The Dime Tour
The Repopulation is currently in alpha. They've run a Kistarter campaign, have solicited funds through their website, and have already met their goals for a second Kickstarer campaign. The game, I believe, is "fully funded", and they are turning their sights towards the "stretch goals" for post-launch.
If you're as old (or older) as I am, and I say "imagine mashing UO and SWG into one sci-fi package, and you'd be holding The Repopulation", then you'll already understand what the game is aiming for. For everyone else, I'll have to rely on some choice bullet-points, as explaining something that's essentially made up of two of the original sandbox MMOs is tl;dr in itself.
* Player created cities with individual, non-instanced housing, and actual city mechanics (mayors and city controls)
* Dynamic NPC reaction system where player actions have an effect on NPC behavior and on world events
* Deep crafting (more than just mats + recipe = item) with experimentation and material quality considerations, and the return of placed harvesters!
* Missions can be generated "on the fly" for your character, and can change mid-stream in response to player actions
* No levels! Skill based progression, where skills advanced through use
* Stat-less gear! "Shells" are cosmetic items which contain slots that take fittings to impart the stats you need
* Pets, robots, and genetic engineering for both combat and non-combat roles
* Action and RPG combat modes that cater to the button-masher or the hotbar traditionalist
* Three faction PvP that can include the formation of player-created and operated nations
* City sieges
* Standard PvP (world with non-PvP zones and no corpse looting) and Hardcore (all PvP, all the time) servers.
This is a seriously condensed list of features as I understand them from the official website, and several interviews and videos with the development team.
Show Me The (Value For My) Money
This seems like an almost stupidly overambitious project for something that's not affiliated with a AAA development/publishing house. Were it not for a constant but very low-level presence at conventions, videos online, or interviews in which people have actually gotten their hands on the project, it would be super simple to dismiss this as another "big promise, no show" vaporware title due to it's lofty goals.
I am disproportionately excited for this project. I'm not much of a PvPer, and the developers are keen to "encourage" -- though not force -- PvP. But the promise of being a haven for dispossessed UO and SWG players is way too sweet of a siren song to ignore. Their idea of standard servers sounds a lot like what we get from many other MMOs where it's entirely possible to play in PvE, and not only to play PvE, but to mostly avoid combat in favor of crafting and harvesting for one's own profit and the profit of friends and faction members. Most of the time our fond memories of games we once played is shattered by trying to recapture those experiences in the same games, but there's nothing that says we can't have other games try to bring back some of that old time religion in a totally new way, which is why I'm really looking forward to seeing what The Repopulation can do for those of us who miss the early sandbox experiences.