Aware of all those mentioned, and I see your interpretation, but you're not quite nailing what I mean. I'm wondering why there are no RPGs, and by that I mean full on plot, quest, inventory managing, rich story, dialogue tree and multiple choices in most situations, that style of game, applied to a dedicated wartime setting. We have post-apocalyptic wastelands, we have dystopic future cities, we have fantasy countrysides full of small towns, but we don't have a wartime campaign with a rich plot and a freeform gameplay style. Consider the PS2/Xbox open world war sandbox 'Mercenaries' – and consider playing a similar role in a game emphasising plot and depth rather than over the top action.

Imagine playing a skilled specialist mercenary or black-ops trooper stuck on the front lines after a failed mission, freelancing for various competing colonels and captains on one side who each have their own perspective on the war and their own personal goals – treachery and honour, assassinations and message running, fire support and reconaissance. Perhaps even defecting, or playing double-agent, or simply playing both sides off against one another if you found a way to cross no-man's land without getting shot by either side.

.. YUMMY!

Edit: Sleepy Jakkar man recognises, in his current state of emotional corpsitude, that he may have sounded rather unfriendly there. He is however far too tired to correct it, and hopes the Steerpike man knows the Jakkar has a great respect for him and enjoys his feedback much. Aha. Hahaha. Hah. *headdesksnore*

Jarrod: I'm actually suggesting/discussing a solely singleplayer, or at most party-multiplayer co-operative RPG =) A trench MMO would be an entirely different prospect, one I'd be happy to discuss seperately but.. Nah, this is just about story-rich RPG gameplay ^^

As for the TF MMO... I don't see any way it can work comfortable unless it's set during the Golden Age of Cybertron, when there were thousands of weak, faceless little robots quietly splitting into two factions as the civil war began. It's the only period in Transformers that has the scale and anonymity necessary for an MMO. If it isn't set this way, I'll be.. even more disappointed than I think I already will be. Or would, if I had any hope for it =D

Increasing in size is a notion that makes me uncomfortable - most of them never really changed, or did it just once (i.e. in a million years or whatever Optimus goes from his little midgety Orion Pax incarnation to Optimus Prime and stays that way - or Hotrod ascending to Rodimus just the once with the direct aid of the Matrix - key events that shouldn't be reduced a sequence of repeated upgrades).

Thinking about it, I imagine it will be very City of Heroes, assembling your character from a set of predefined archetypes with a toybox of powers and themes. There'll be a lot of helicopters, to say the least. I hope decepticons will be granted superior flight powers. Ideally I'd want action heavy combat mirroring the 1980s animated movie, where every colossal warrior still uses cover cautiously, and rips apart their environment in battle.

OOH, and lots of melee!

*injects himself with the excitement-quashers D:*

Perhaps I'll get around to it oneday =)

Like I said above - ideally one would be playing a military consultant - i.e. a mercenary of sorts. Or a 'blackops' type soldier abandoned by a failed mission, under no-one's command and not able to be formally assimilated due to the deniability of his existence, but keep to contribute something.

A warzone is one of the few places active enough to support the cliched degree of constant combat action the modern RPG demands..