Help me understand why it’s still being called and advertised as “Free to Play”.  I’ve already proven that to be a fallacy.  Why does the commercial purposely mislead people?  It’s free until you reach about level 10 (can anyone confirm the exact point in content?) and need to move beyond the initial experience.

“But you can grind to get points then buy quests!”

Stop and listen to yourself.   GRIND…. to BUY…. LotRO’s QUESTS…  First of all, grinding to quest is in itself a ridiculous statement.  Second, LotRO’s quests are 90% grinding anyway.  Third, you’re probably one of the same people who rejoice in the ability to buy from the cash shop items which allow you to circumvent the original grinding!  I know that half of the people out there are being hypocritical on this issue.

The honest truth here that I’m sure is backed up with real statistics of “F2P” games is that most players will burn out grinding for points before they actually achieve enough to play for free.  There’s a decent outline here of how someone can play to about level 25 without needing to spend any money.  The reality is, most people will probably subscribe (as suggested in that guide) in order to be able to have an easier time playing for free (derp).  It won’t take long for the player to run out of content again and be so burned out that they cancel.

There will be immense player turnover from this, but that’s how this model works.  Turbine knows that.  If they can get a ton of people to spend $5 then that’s already better than having a few people spend $15.  That might be “good business” but that’s not good game management.

“The Adventure is Free” <– That is a bold-faced lie.  Stop eating it up.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

You… Shall Not… Pay! *

• What is “free” in LotRO F2P?
• What do D&D Online and Babies”R”Us have in common?
• Blorc update, almost there…
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• EverQuest II Extended
• News is starting to appear and I like what I hear
• 31 point trees are win
• LotRO’s Cash Shop affects gameplay directly and indirectly
• Discipline versus Ancestor’s Echo
• There’s Always That One Guy

Today the first events for Cataclysm came out.  Operation Gnomeregan and Zalazane’s Fall for Alliance and Horde respectively.  I did Zalazane’s fall and honestly I was underwhelmed.  The whole event took 30 minutes max and felt rushed.  Even the big event at the end was just a moshpit of meaninglessness.  Zalazane is gone or something.  Woop.  So what.  That’s the feeling I had when doing it.  I was expecting something a little more… Oh I don’t know… epic maybe?  Yeah, it’s just a pre-event but that doesn’t change my opinion any.

Most of my guild is waiting for Cataclysm now.  I’m tempted to make an Alliance alt to pass the time.  At this point it’s just a matter of waiting.  Cataclysm will be a relaunch for me and WoW.  I’m reading about the changes being made to the whole world — even the loot getting some changes in places like Scarlet Monastery.  I plan to play lots of alts and level characters up.  Goblin Mage and Goblin Warrior then maybe a Goblin Shaman.  Yeah, my plan is to be an altaholic but at this point it’s more than that.  It’s about enjoying the best part of WoW and the best part of the expansions: Leveling.  I might raid or I might not.  Right now my plan is to just do the content and dungeons and not even think about going further.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Zalazane’s Fall and my WoW status

• WoW: A return.
• Lots of Cataclysm Info – Lots of Changes
• There’s Always That One Guy
• Paladin Healing is oldschool (and an update on our ICC smackdown)
• PVP Rage Post
• WoW’s 3.3.5 Patch
• WoW class overhaul brings big changes to the lower level gameplay
• Patch Day!
• It always ends with a whimper
• Anyone following Rift: Planes of Telara?

I’m not saying that the first twenty levels should be weakened as not to come across so amazing when compared to the rest of a MMO’s content, but I also question whether or not the fairy tale request of asking developers to make their entire games as good 30, 40, 50 levels in would give them anyone much help either.  The answer isn’t to get rid of levels because then we can replace levels with time.  It’s also not a valid excuse to blame funding and/or publishers rushing the game out.

Maybe the best explanation and solution that I have can be found in the fact that most of these problems arise from recent games being too linear (excluding Vanguard). When games are extremely linear it’s harder to pick up on the pattern.  It’s easier to burn out on for players and to get lazy as developers when you funnel players.  Sandbox games (like VG or UO) or  a more ‘open’ experience (like EverQuest or early DAOC) offer players the opportunity to create their own path or to exist more naturally/harmoniously with the game’s world.  Recently releases have been anything but open.

Another explanation could be the effort factor.  By the way, in no way, even remotely, am I talking about grinding — so don’t bring it up.  I’m talking about the way in which our characters progress.  It’s quick and it’s meaningless.  I can be level 2 in 20 seconds or level 5 in 10 minutes.  Even level 20 is often attainable in two days of solid play (less for the hardcore).  Progressing through these levels is about going out and killing some crabs or delivering bread.  It’s thoughtless.  It takes no effort and barely any time.  Some examples of games that do the opposite would be EverQuest or DAOC.  Even from the start there was more effort involved.  Elements of survival, learning your class’ limitations right away, and other more dynamic elements come into play quicker.

The First 20 is an issue with dire consequences for me as I speak.  I’m Alpha and Beta testing games right now and, aside from wanting to actually test, I’m worried about whether or not I should play to avoid burning out.   Why spoil the magical feeling of ‘release innocence’?  I don’t want to, but I know that if I don’t then I will be looking forward to a game based upon gameplay that may not be indicative of or reflect the whole picture.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

The First 20

• Take the ‘Positive’ foundation from EQ and what do you get?
• There’s WoW but then there’s WoW
• What is “free” in LotRO F2P?
• EverQuest Next …. *prays*
• EverQuest II Extended
• EverQuest Next Details: SoE is luring me back in a big way
• SWTOR looking decent now
• Firefall’s Debut: The Good and the Bad
• We’re settling into a ‘New MMO’ Slump
• Actually folks things look rather good

The first few minutes almost had me closing my browser out of boredom. It appeared so generic that it could have been any game like Halo. I kept watching and then the part where they took off in the flying vehicle piqued my interest. It showed a lush world inhabited by creatures with lots of room to move around. They flew over a couple of outposts and landed in a city and then the realization of what they’re trying to accomplish with the game set in, even before I read the FAQ.

It appears to be a Borderlands meets ‘what Global Agenda should have been’. There’s clearly a campaign/story that I’m betting is linear but, according to their FAQ and the general ease of which a game like this can be designed, they can easily make room for a few dynamic gameplay elements.

How they plan to accomodate hundreds of players playing together on a mini-server could go several ways.  It could be Cryptic’s lobby based server method or Guild Wars’ style.  We might see a simple Borderlands method where a game is created and people join.  Through the use of a solid front end platform they could do great things.

There will even be PvP, which is where my impression that we’ll see a tad bit of what I expected from Global Agenda come in.  If they keep the PvP in the open world and do not segregate it with instancing then it might be interesting.  Perhaps allow players to join servers with PvP enabled fully.

HOWEVER

A knife pierced my heart when I read this….

How much will Firefall cost to play?
We are so excited about Firefall that we want to make sure everyone can play it and join their friends in the game. When Firefall releases, it will be available online for download and play for absolutely free.

Will there be a subscription fee?
Absolutely not. We do not feel that a subscription fee best suits the style of game we are creating.

How do you plan to make money?
We plan to offer a marketplace for Firefall that will offer players items to enhance their gaming experience. We are adamantly against selling anything that might compromise the skill-based aspect of the game

*facepalm*

Why? Why not just sell the box? Guild Wars did it. Why this need to be all ‘cool’ and come off like ‘hey our game is free, ohhh yeahhh’.  Good games are worth buying!

Ugh.  I can cross my fingers and hope for a cash shop that won’t impact gameplay or “compromise the skill-based aspect of the game” at all.  Hahahaha… who am I kidding?

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Firefall’s Debut: The Good and the Bad

• Guild Wars 2 Trailer blows minds but…
• E3 highlights
• Trailers: Do they cause more harm than good?
• Global Agenda can still be more than a flash in the pan
• What is “free” in LotRO F2P?
• Starcraft 2 and WoW : Blizzard is it’s own worst enemy
• Guild Wars: What I like about it.
• SWTOR Ships and PvP…. ehhh I don’t know.
• Clone Wars Adventures Impressions
• Age of Empires Online

Why did I only play a couple hours?  Honestly, you’ve probably heard these reasons from just about everyone else who isn’t playing but I want you to hear it from me too.  I’m not even going to touch upon any of the controversial stuff like the fatigue system.  My problems with the game are straight forward and simple.

The controls are terrible.  Even with a gamepad, which I had to put in after the first hour of play just to be able to continue for another hour, the game is unresponsive.  The new keyboard/mouse controls are just plain bad and unresponsive as well.

Chatting with NPC’s is like reading a novel.  They say so much… but they don’t say it.  I had to read walls of text that I didn’t find the least bit interesting.  Some people have told me things like “at least the lore is good”, but I didn’t get that impression.  The chat window (unless fixed recently) doesn’t help things.

Combat is unresponsive and dull.  It’s not entirely a menu system like you would expect from FF games, but it might as well be given how delayed and clunky everything is… heck, even the menus that you do see are wonky.  Is it a lack of polish or just a total lapse in judgment on the dev’s part?  I can’t tell.  It feels at times like a sloppy port, but then again isn’t the PC the primary platform?

It’s not immersive.  Bottom line, I log in and I play for an hour or two and not once do I feel like it’s a game that I would want to play seriously or invest time into.  That’s a very, very bad sign for me.  Maybe it’s the Eastern influence.

You guys know me.  If there’s even a chance that I’ll enjoy something you can probably find me foaming at the mouth somewhere.  However, when I don’t like a game even from the start it’s because the game usually has some major problems.  This is partly where I don’t know what to think… the FFXI crew might love it but I don’t see how anyone who appreciates a responsive, immersive, and fun game could.  Maybe it will do well based upon franchise loyalty, but that doesn’t change the facts.

If you base your decision on playing (or trying to get one of those coveted beta keys) solely from reading this blog, then I’ll do you a favor and tell you not to waste your time.  If you’re a loyal to Final Fantasy then please tell me what it is about this game that you love so much.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

FFXIV Impressions (That you’ve probably seen before)

• StarCraft 2′s Custom Map community is justifiably frustrated
• Anyone following Rift: Planes of Telara?
• Playing KOTOR makes we want SWTOR even more
• Black Orc update – middle of tier 2
• FFXIV’s Pricing Model
• What am I doing? What are you doing?
• Guild Wars: What I like about it.
• WoW’s 3.3.5 Patch
• SWTOR looking decent now
• Revisiting a Galaxy far, far away

On one hand you have a game that took what worked in the years before it and then streamlined it all.  That’s the 2004-2005 WoW.  This era of WoW was about the world and adventuring within it to find the nuances that Blizzard created for players to find and appreciate.  Yeah, it streamlined games like EverQuest and DAOC, but there wasn’t much to complain about the game given how it was polished up compared to what we’d played prior.

Then came the era of raid progression from 2006-2009.  This is where the treadmill of getting gear to get gear came into play and it all became about doing raids.  This is where the raiders vs. the casual arguments gained momentum.  From Burning Crusade and into WotLK Blizzard clearly identified their game as a game of raiding content.

2009-Present could best be categorized as the “Era of Convenience”.  This is when everyone sits in Dalaran and just warps out to the instances.  No one leaves the capital cities for anything.  Leveling is done quickly and without thought.  Raids are easier, streamlined, and no longer just for the hardcore audience.  Everything feels easy and carries with it little meaning or importance.  It’s still fun, but missing that spark of life.

When someone says that a game is a “WoW clone”, to which version of WoW are they speaking?  I would say that all of them have their pluses and minuses.  My favorite would be the original era or “vanilla” pre-MC/BWL raiding.  The world was emphasized more, things felt simpler but were more difficult in their simplicity.  I do not believe that one can look at a game that shares similarities with the original releases of WoW (or other versions) and start talking about it negatively or even positively as though it shares commonalities with all versions of WoW — the game has just evolved way too much to make a generalization without specifying.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

There’s WoW but then there’s WoW

• Clone Wars Adventures Impressions
• Starcraft 2 and WoW : Blizzard is it’s own worst enemy
• Blizzard regains it’s sanity
• StarCraft 2′s Custom Map community is justifiably frustrated
• EverQuest Next Details: SoE is luring me back in a big way
• RealDumb
• Real names on Blizzard Forums
• There’s Always That One Guy
• Not all MMO’s have to be McMMO’s
• What a tool he was

What made me want to share the video with you guys is mostly the class system.  I really like how players get to customize their ideal class by pulling in a little bit from here and there.  I’m not sure to what extent it will work out in the end and just how customizable it will be before the cookie cutter sets in, but it at least looks nice and not entirely like anything done before.

Anyway, check it out.  The game clearly isn’t redefining the wheel.  The biggest criticism about the game thus far that I have seen is that it’s not much different from the regular MMO’s of the pre-wow era (EQ2 appearing to have a lot of similarities) — I’m also seeing some odd WAR similarities too.  That doesn’t bug me much.  You guys know that about me though; I’m okay with the more traditional style of games.  I enjoy traditional MMO combat, worlds that have a ‘virtual world’ feel to them, and other traditional mechanics like grouping.

Thoughts on Rift so far?  Anyone have any further insights into the game that I may not have yet?

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Catching up on some Rift info

• Anyone following Rift: Planes of Telara?
• There’s WoW but then there’s WoW
• News from the Front 7/9
• News from the Front: I like to move it
• Land of Chaos Online
• Patch Day!
• MoH 2010 PC Beta Impressions
• SWTOR looking decent now
• News from the Front: The Return
• Blorc update, almost there…

It’s been four days since I’ve touched a computer to do anything but print off directions so it feels like the world has passed me by.

I’ll be returning to my regular blogging schedule within a day or two.  Until then, what’s been going on in the gaming world? How are Worms and Elemental War of Magic?  I’m thinking about picking these two up on Monday.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Almost back in action

• Game Watch: Worms Reloaded and Elemental War of Magic
• Weekend of Gaming: Renovations
• Busy On The House
• Played Lately.
• Clone Wars Adventures Impressions
• Summer of Werit
• It always ends with a whimper
• Catching up on some Rift info
• 31 point trees are win
• FCD the decision

This was a really long time coming and I’ve been sharing my distaste over the idea on our forums and with others for several months.  Cryptic is making a D&D Neverwinter multiplayer coop game.  This will be like NWN but set in the new 4th edition rules after “years and years” have passed.

I don’t care if it’s not a MMO.   Cryptic simply does not have the ability to make good games.  They lack the basic understanding of how to make a game fun and engaging.  There’s no need to go any further and explain the plethora of individual failings seen in their games — they’re simply not any fun.

Let’s talk about another issue.  If this is a multiplayer coop RPG game with up to five players… isn’t that kinda what Neverwinter Nights has been capable of being all along?  I played NWN with Graev and another one of our friends through the full game and its expansions.   Are they going to support it on a platform of sorts to create an experience closer to Diablo’s multiplayer instead of a server browser?  This Gamespot article/interview mentions connecting to a server to create a session for you and/or your friends.

Jack Emmert says: “We’re trying to create new sorts of games that we call “OMGs” (online multiplayer games).”

GENIUS!  Pure genius Jack.  There were singleplayer games then massively multiplayer games.  How could we have missed that middle step?!

Personally, I don’t know what to make of what Jack Emmert or the articles are saying.  Jack thinks that MMO’s are persistent zones with instances attached to them.  He says so right in that gamespot interview.  I don’t even know where Cryptic is going to go with what the rest of the world thinks of RPG’s.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Cryptic + Next D&D Game =

• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• Game Watch: Worms Reloaded and Elemental War of Magic
• The Monetization of Call of Duty’s Multiplayer
• Age of Empires Online
• Torchlight 2: LAN’ers rejoice
• WoW’s 3.3.5 Patch
• K&G’s E3 2010: Nintendo Press Conference Commentary
• MoH 2010 PC Beta Impressions
• StarCraft 2′s Campaign is amazing
• The story from Gamescom so far…

Clone Wars Adventures is the Star Wars version of Free Realms… or so we thought when we went to play yesterday.   When we heard that SoE was taking the popular Star Wars cartoon and turning it into a F2P game, pretty much everyone immediately thought of Free Realms.

While the game shares many things with Free Realms, the two are actually more different than they are alike.  Free Realms attempts to create a virtual world feeling.  Your character moves around in a standard 3d environment in a fairly traditional way.  In Clone Wars it feels more like you’re looking at your character move in more of a left to right pseudo 3d environment feel with a fixed camera angle.  The game so far, when playing your character, plays more like moving screen to screen.

Just how much is played as your character?  So far it’s just the part where you’re in a lobby area walking from mini-game to mini-game.  This is just a beta, but unless I’ve missed something (and I may have, please let me know and I can update this), it appears that the entirety of the game is mini-games.

Free Realms has a world to explore, monsters to fight, and offers more than mini-games.  In Clone Wars I look out the windows and see a city-like atmosphere that just begs to be explored or adventured in, even in a shallow way like Free Realms… but it’s all so confined in CWA.

Since the game is so much about the mini-games at this point, let’s talk about them.  They’re not bad.  There’s everything from Tower Defense to an on-rails starship shooter (lol SWTOR) to a who-can-press-the- arrow-keys-patterns- faster saber duel game.  Some of them are stupid like the one where you throw your saber or have to match the blocks or tell what’s different about a picture,  but for the most part they’re deep and at times difficult on the harder levels.

The absolute best thing that we’ve seen and can say we love about Clone Wars are the graphics.  This is absolutely one gorgeous game that has captured the look and feel of the Clone Wars cartoon.  There’s a richness to the simplicity of the stylized cartoon appearance that really comes through on the higher resolutions.  It’s easy to get started and the whole thing is polished up nicely.

What little we’ve seen of the Station Cash microtransaction implementation, it looks to be all about the costumes and furniture.  If you want the Boba Fett outfit (which every kid and adult will) then you’ll need to pull out the wallet.  If you want the cool spaceships (I assume for use in the mini-games?) or furniture then it’ll cost you.  If your character meant more than an avatar in a lobby we’d be all over the idea but right now it serves no purpose to buy any of this stuff if it’s all mini-games anyway.

Some of the features, like an inventory with slots for gear, are a bit aggrandizing.  They serve little purpose with the current direction of the game except to make it seem like there’s more going on than there really is or that the game is a MMO/RPG/whatever.

If SoE makes Clone Wars like Free Realms with places to explore, quests to complete, monsters to kill and more than just mini-games then we’re both going to be all over this game.  If it remains as-is then it’s a missed opportunity that doesn’t offer much more than a flash game site would with a Star Wars coat of paint. In other words, there’s no reason to play it.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Clone Wars Adventures Impressions

• There’s WoW but then there’s WoW
• E3 highlights
• Firefall’s Debut: The Good and the Bad
• Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Guild Wars: What I like about it.
• What is “free” in LotRO F2P?
• We’re settling into a ‘New MMO’ Slump
• Revisiting a Galaxy far, far away
• Clone Wars Adventures “Open Beta” still has a NDA
• FFXIV’s Pricing Model

Massively.com has an article up today highlighting a few of the items available in the cash shop.  There’s also a nice list here on the official forums and I’m sure if you’re really that interested you can find some of the uproar over the cash shop on fansites/blogs as well.  Take a look at these and let me know if you think I was right when I said that they would affect the gameplay.

Permanent +30 stats – It’s buying power for your character.  Doesn’t matter if it’s only +30, it makes the characters with it better than those without.  This affects gameplay directly.

Virtues can be purchased – Instead of earning the virtues, you buy them outright.  This circumvents the way the game was meant to be played: earning them.  It diminishes what people have already done for their characters.  It trivializes the actions of earning it yourself even if you choose not to buy them. This both directly and indirectly affects gameplay.

Reputation Mounts – Like most games, there are rewards you can earn by putting in time doing something.  Even if it’s a rep grind, the people who earned them could be proud.  Now they can be purchased outright without the need for rep.  To all those who worked hard to feel distinguished, sucks to be you because now someone who starts fresh has what you worked hard for instantly. This indirectly affects the game.  It diminishes effort, goal oriented gameplay, and the achievement of those who played before F2P.  Trivialize more.

More – Maps that instantly teleport you all around the world, buff potions that give you an temporary edge, scrolls to resurrect yourself. Direct and indirect impact on the game and/or her players.

Instantly buy what was once hard-earned? Check.
Players buy power for their characters that give an edge over those that don’t? Check.
Affect the game directly and/or indirectly? Check.

This isn’t stuff that can be avoided either. This is affecting everyone. It’s not like EQ2x on a separate server or something you can avoid by actually paying a subscription instead of playing for free.  But I’m an idiot right?  Is it still a knee-jerk reaction?  Even after these revelations I guarantee you someone is going to comment that I’m wrong.

My position remains unchanged on Free to Play.  It’s bad for games.  Free to Play brings with it certain elements which alter the way games are played/maintained/designed in order to accommodate its model.  In a subscription game the developer’s interests and the player’s interests are much more aligned.  In a F2P game the developer’s interests and players interests diverge.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

LotRO’s Cash Shop affects gameplay directly and indirectly

• You… Shall Not… Pay! *
• EverQuest Next …. *prays*
• EverQuest II Extended
• Firefall’s Debut: The Good and the Bad
• Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• AP’BS’: VOIP Ads
• Trailers: Do they cause more harm than good?
• What is “free” in LotRO F2P?
• Clone Wars Adventures Impressions
• Magus (and engineer… spit spit) changes in development revealed!

Turns out the CM “Pex” responds  via PM with:

“There is an NDA in effect. Just don’t post reviews or screenshots to the internet yet, but it’s ok to talk to your friends.”

So down go the impressions until the “open beta” is open because I’m nice.  I think they should do a better job letting people know about the NDA.  Yes, I know it’s there when you sign up.  I just assumed like every other open beta that they left it up.  It’s not on their forums anywhere (or wasn’t for the past 30+ hours) or on any fan site where people are commenting non-stop.  (Massively, MMORPG.com, TenTonHammer, just to name a few) or website.

Someone figure out what “open beta” means, please.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Clone Wars Adventures “Open Beta” still has a NDA

• Should the Endless Trial end?
• Reminiscing about NetStorm
• FFXIV Impressions (That you’ve probably seen before)
• Clone Wars Adventures Impressions
• Playing KOTOR makes we want SWTOR even more
• Cryptic + Next D&D Game =
• WoW: A return.
• Transition Update – 7/8/2010
• What is “free” in LotRO F2P?
• Weekend of Gaming: StarCraft 2 Edition

Totec walking across Lara's Grappling Hook.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is available today on XBLA (and not on PS3 or PC until Sept 28).  Graev and I picked it up for 1200 microsoft points, completing out summer collection which essentially awards us 1200 points so we semi-somewhat justify it as free.  It’s an isometric platformer/action game with puzzles, boss fights, hack n slash, upgrades and other forms of minor character progression.

Even if you don’t like the source materials, or like us know very little about Tomb Raider games of the past, there’s a very fun coop experience to be had here.  The game gets going very quickly with a brief still-movie/explanation of why you’re on this adventure.  You’re joined by your Mayan buddy Totec to stop the bad guy Xolotl who stole the Mirror of Smoke.  Here’s where coop comes in.  One player chooses Lara and the other chooses Totec.  The two have to make their way through the levels while killing bad guys, finding ways to get powersups/unlocks/artifacts, and work together.

Both characters have abilities that are required to advance in the levels.  For example, Totec can throw his Mayan spears of awesome into the wall and Lara’s light and nimble physique can jump on them to reach things or for whatever you would stand on spears to do.  Lara can shoot out rope which lets Totec grab it and swing or even tightrope walk on it when Lara has it attached to something.  Totec can raise his shield above him and Lara, again with that nimble balance, can stand on it to reach ledges.  Each character also has several other abilities or tools to help them on their own or as a duo. (Note: If you play solo it’s only Lara and she has the stuff needed to progress but the puzzles are different on coop to make it different and fun.)

There’s rumor of a multiplayer patch coming to Xbox 360 but for now, and even without it, it’s worth it to buy the game and play with a friend if you’re looking for some very solid coop gameplay.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

• Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• You… Shall Not… Pay! *
• Cryptic + Next D&D Game =
• Alien Swarm
• What is Destruction’s most fun career for a new player?
• Monday Night Combat
• More detail on 1.3.6 DPS changes for the Runepriest
• Revisiting a Galaxy far, far away
• The First 20
• It takes skills

Microsoft announced Age of Empires Online today.  It’s going to be a “persistent” RTS game where your empire continues to grow while you’re offline.  Just how much is persistent? No clue — probably just that it doesn’t disappear when you log out. I have this idea floating around in my head of an actual RTS game that allows you to travel with your troops and siege other players like you would in a real RTS game — just imagine the world being enormous.  Clearly it’s not going to be that, but there’s still a lot that they can do with it even if it’s just you in your own little world but capable of taking armies and troops that you’ve trained into battle.

AoEO is going to have familiar AoE gameplay, resource management, the ability to go on quests with friends, battle friends, and team up with others to battle.  The game’s art style and direction have changed.  It’s more cartoony now, but I don’t see anything wrong with it.  Stylized graphics age well and they play the feel of the game into a much less serious nature.  I’m getting a Battlefield Heroes vibe which is both good and bad (BF:Heroes was great before they messed up the microtransactions).

It’s not my ideal direction for the Age of Empire franchise.  I would have loved to see a fully realized RTS game.  The trailer shows gameplay that I definitely want to play though.  So far this is something I’m looking forward to, with the only trepidation being mention of social gaming and free-to-play experiences being their motivation to go this direction with the franchise.  At least they’re sticking solely to PC on this one as a digital download.

Oh, and my Mom thinks the idea of Age of Empires Online “sounds neat”.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Age of Empires Online

• Guild Wars 2 Trailer blows minds but…
• Game Watch: Worms Reloaded and Elemental War of Magic
• K&G’s E3 2010: Nintendo Press Conference Commentary
• Land of Chaos Online
• Clone Wars Adventures Impressions
• Cryptic + Next D&D Game =
• Real names on Blizzard Forums
• K&G E3 2010: Sony’s Press Conference Commentary
• The Monetization of Call of Duty’s Multiplayer
• WoW’s 3.3.5 Patch

I love the ambience and look of this landscape.

I spent nearly an hour during one of my lunch breaks this past week browsing the official Rift: Planes of Telara website and watching videos of gameplay, interviews from conventions, and production video pieces done by Trion Devs.

The game actually looks good.  I think the only thing I’ve ever written about the game on the blog was a piece about MMO worlds where I simply referenced a screenshot.  The world itself, from what I’ve seen in videos, screenshots, and explanations looks filled with lush forests — we need more real forests in MMO’s — and many settings which simply have a lot of detail.  My first impressions of the game were directed straight at how great the world looks in a sort of stylized realism.

I hope that I’m not reading too much into the Planes.  I’m reminded of EQ’s planes here.  Are they raids?  Just another zone?  I’m also eying the instance system where players can solo them but the more people you bring in the harder it gets + better loot and exp.

Rift’s class system was explained in a recent video.  First thing I have to point out is Adam Gershowitz is working on the game.  I feel bad for saying this but I had to chuckle when seeing him in multiple videos and talking about classes.  I remember the WAR production podcasts…. oh how embarrassing those must be for those guys.  Well, he’s back and he’s talking about the class system.

Graev and I both like that they're not going with the steriotypical Dwarf look (or Goblin).

Their “soul” terminology in ‘The Ascended Class System’ could really be simplified to the word ‘talents’ and suddenly it doesn’t sound so convoluted.  Basically it looks like you pick a basic class and then as you spend your points (perhaps how you spend them) you get access to different trees or “branches” that unlock the root abilities.  I’m still not sure if I have it right, but it sounds like perhaps how you play determines the types of souls you get… ?

Fewer starting classes that branch off into many subclasses reminds me a bit of EQ2.  I’m crossing my fingers that it works out a bit better for these guys and doesn’t turn into something that they end up simplifying in the future.  Some multi-classing going on here which looks cool and makes it hopefully work better than EQ2.

There’s a lot to talk about and it really won’t read well if I try to regurgitate all the things I’ve read.  I’ll simply wrap up by saying that I’m happy to see a game being made by a Western studio, that isn’t going to be microtransactions, and appears to be all about a big beautiful and diverse world and traditional MMO gameplay.  I’m also interested in some of the talent they’ve brought in to work on the game and hoping that it all comes together.

Rift has moved up on my list of anticipated games.  I want to see and learn more before I get excited about the title, but I have a good feeling about this one so far.

My main questions that I’d love to have answered by Trion Devs:

1. Is the world open/contiguous or chopped up into lobbies?
2. Are there non-instanced dungeons?
3. Is the combat more traditional (like WoW or EQ) or more action like Age of Conan?
4. Can we expect to level via quests or will dungeon crawling and other methods just as viable?
5. If you had to pick ONE game that Rift: Planes of Telara most closely resembled, which would it be?

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Anyone following Rift: Planes of Telara?

• Catching up on some Rift info
• We’re settling into a ‘New MMO’ Slump
• Starcraft 2 and WoW : Blizzard is it’s own worst enemy
• Patch Day!
• Guild Wars 2 Trailer blows minds but…
• K&G’s E3 2010: Nintendo Press Conference Commentary
• Take the ‘Positive’ foundation from EQ and what do you get?
• Firefall’s Debut: The Good and the Bad
• What is Destruction’s most fun career for a new player?
• There’s WoW but then there’s WoW

(PC STEAM) (August 26)
Worms games are always awesome. It feels like forever since the last one and this time it’s coming to PC through Steam. Worms Reloaded is designed specifically for the PC with PC controls and it gets all the Steamworks goodies.

The basic premise of the game is that you have a team of worms and you have to kill the enemy’s worms. You do so by taking turns using all kinds of weapons and gear while trying to get the upper hand on the map. You’ll get an idea of the gameplay from the video.

Worms Reloaded is bringing back a lot of the best gadgets (like the Super Rope) and introducing several new ones as well. It’s coming with a landscape creation tool so that you can create your own levels as well as 4 player multiplayer and a singleplayer.

It’s the type of game you’ll be able to pick up and enjoy for 10 minutes or 10 hours that never gets old. Steam integration is the real gem here since you’ll be able to get groups of friends playing together in seconds.

(PC) (August 24)
From the creators Publishers of Sins of a Solar Empire comes what we’re hoping is an equally deep and imaginative strategy game. This time the setting is a medieval fantasy world.

There’s really no better explanation than the official site’s:

“Players found new cities, research new technologies, study spells, build a family dynasty, engage in diplomacy, fight wars, go on quests and much more as they strive to overcome all enemies and dominate the world.”

It looks to be one of those great empire builders where you start off with a few workers and a basic civilization and have to gather your resources, establish your dynasty, and conquer the world. Creating and customizing your own troops, playing with up to 16 players, going on quests, killing special monsters, creating your own worlds, and an overall “more than 4x” experience make this one to watch.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Game Watch: Worms Reloaded and Elemental War of Magic

• Game Watch: DeathSpank and Hydro Thunder Hurricane
• Age of Empires Online
• Producer’s Letter – July 2010
• Summer of Werit
• Cryptic + Next D&D Game =
• Aftermath
• Almost back in action
• K&G’s E3 2010: Nintendo Press Conference Commentary
• Weekend of Gaming: StarCraft 2 Edition
• K&G E3 2010: Sony’s Press Conference Commentary

Keen
I’ll be playing the ‘prepare the house to be painted’ game. We just had crown molding and new baseboards installed throughout the house this past week. Next step is to move more things towards the center of each room. It should look really nice but it’s been a real challenge to do all of this house work while taking care of a new puppy, watching our older (and blind) dog. Add in that I’m leaving for school in less than two weeks and this has been the busiest summer in years. But that’s enough of RL.

My gaming will be sporadic, but I have some important plans. I want to finish up KotOR which has been dragging along for me. For the first time… maybe in 5 or 6 years… I have a backlog. I have Kotor, Bioshock, Overlord 1 and 2, and three or four console games to finish. I may dabble in Overlord, if anything. I’ll also get in a few SC2 matches here and there. I’m ranked 4th in my 2v2 random team Gold League division. I went on a 6 game winning streak but the strategy only works if I have a teammate who can hold his own. And, of course, WoW (which is hard to log into for only short bursts of time so I usually check auctions and say hey to guildies before having to log.)

Perhaps the most interesting game will be FFXIV Beta. Let me just say that playing in short bursts is not any way to have fun in this game. More to come on FFXIV after the weekend.

Graev
I’m checking out stuff on my iPad mostly. Chaos Rings is a Square-Enix RPG (available on iPhone and iPad that I know of) that I’m an hour and a half into and enjoying. Plants vs. Zombies might get played. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (XBLA) is also on the list and worth checking out for those interested in yet another good XBLA game. I might get some Mass Effect 2 in if time. I’ve been playing a lot of Monday Night Combat and will definitely play more this weekend too.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Weekend of Gaming: Renovations

• Weekend of Gaming: StarCraft 2 Edition
• Mass Effect 2 DLC
• FFXIV Benchmark has done me a favor.
• WAR Joins the BioWare Social Network!
• Busy On The House
• We’re settling into a ‘New MMO’ Slump
• Playing KOTOR makes we want SWTOR even more
• RvR lakes to stay small, boo hiss
• Game Watch: DeathSpank and Hydro Thunder Hurricane
• Ruby Sanctum thoughts and Cataclysm NDA down= *Drool*

The game essentially plays like a class-based third person shooter, similar to TF2 in many ways, except it throws in an interesting extra element. Each team has various bots, which are computer controlled, that advance forward attacking enemy players and turrets until they can push their way into the enemy base and bring down their objective. This makes it almost feel like a DotA game in some ways. Killing these bots nets you extra money that can be used to purchase upgrades for your character or to build and upgrade turrets around your base.

There are six or so classes: Assault, Tank, Gunner, Sniper, Support, and Assassin. I believe that is all of them, but I might have mixed some of the names up. Each class features a few special abilities, some of which are: the assassin’s ability to cloak, the support being able to heal and drop turrets, and the gunner being able to root himself to the ground and essentially become a giant turret. There are lots more and they give each of the classes a distinct flavor.

I’ve only played for a couple hours, but I’m already hooked.  For an XBLA game it’s amazing. If this game ever comes to PC I’m sure it would be a big hit also.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Monday Night Combat

• Bad Company 2 VIP Map Pack 4
• Magus (and engineer… spit spit) changes in development revealed!
• Damage done or damage dumb?
• More class changes posted, close quarters changed
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• Blizzard regains it’s sanity
• StarCraft 2′s Campaign is amazing
• PTS Stability Test and Dev QA Tonight!
• Hurrik
• Transition Update – 7/8/2010

Guild Wars 2 is coming along and it’s gorgeous.   Watch this trailer and I dare you to not even think about getting hyped or being sold on the game.

Cool stuff mentioned, right?  Who wouldn’t want all that in a MMO?  Decisions from one player having lasting effects and all that diverse gameplay and all those events happening around you.

All of that is supposed to be happening in the… open… world? Nah.  Arenanet does say right in their FAQ that they’re going to use “extensive instanced gameplay”. Where do you think everything in that trailer is going to take place?

The illusion is suddenly destroyed for me.  I can get all of that great stuff in a singleplayer game or coop gameany time I want (see @NecroRogIcon).  I play MMO’s to participate in a world that is shared simultaneously with other players — a virtual world.  I play MMO’s to be in a world where the decisions of others change my gameplay experience.  I play for the community and the interaction.

I don’t want to diminish how cool GW2 looks or Arenanets accomplishments.  However, it’s time that we start seeing really cool stuff like this in the actual persistent world shared by everyone.   It’s not fair to say all the things they said in that video and call it a MMO when it’s more like a single player experience.  It’s just wrong.

If this is actually going to be apart of the persistent world then ignore everything I just said.  But…

How about being straight forward and actually informative so that I don’t even have to make these posts?

You just know that these types of questions scare the crap out of companies.  It’s why Bioware never gives a clear answer with SWTOR.  It’s probably why Arenanet hasn’t given a clear answer too.  Why can’t we get straightforward answers or at least more information about what we’re seeing and whether or not it’s instanced/singleplayer or persistent world?  That’s something I would remedy VERY quickly if I were ever in charge of marketing.  Lies of omission really create problems by forcing players to connect the dots, imo.

Nonetheless, looks cool.

Update: For those just now reading the entry, please read the comments section thoroughly for a great discussion about the persistent elements of GW2 as well as how much of what I have said here is indeed true.  ArenaNet clarified in a blog entry that much of the persistent elements and things talked about by the female developer in the trailer are instanced.  You can also read a ‘wrap up’ of sorts on my thoughts at Guildwars2Guru.com on their forums.  It comes down to, as I state in the entry, an issue with how this trailer misrepresents the design of the game through a lack of details.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Guild Wars 2 Trailer blows minds but…

• Guild Wars: What I like about it.
• E3 highlights
• Firefall’s Debut: The Good and the Bad
• Global Agenda can still be more than a flash in the pan
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Recknoning’s Trailer and Website
• Age of Empires Online
• SWTOR Ships and PvP…. ehhh I don’t know.
• We’re settling into a ‘New MMO’ Slump
• Trailers: Do they cause more harm than good?
• Brainafk

The discussions here over the past few days have been aimed at the new EverQuest Next project.  We already know that the developers want to rekindle the familiar EQ feel (which itself encompasses art direction, world, lore, etc) but as a relaunch.

SoE devs have also stated quite clearly that they know players talk at great length about what made EQ so great.  Everything from how wonderful the world was to the death penalty — but then a statement was made about EQ Next.  They want the memories of EQ Next to be about positives, not negatives.

My understanding of that statement leads me to believe that they want to do away with the harshness of the original EQ.   The death penalty where you lose experience and must recover your body is probably out.  The harsh leveling curve is also probably out.  I’m not sure if they’re planning to change the group-centric nature, but EQ was also very solo friendly for certain classes… so I’m torn on that.

Let’s not even bother with the negatives or a discussion about how they may or may not have been good for the game.  I want to focus solely on the positives of EQ and how they alone have still not been duplicated.

These positives are truly just the beginning.  There are a lot more specific mechanics that we could talk about, but why bother going any deeper when developers aren’t even paying attention to the basics?

The World – “You’re in our world now.”
Hands down the most important feature of EverQuest. The world was big, open, and more powerful as an entity than the individual player. You just felt the natural need to group with people, even if you found a place that you could solo. It was also dangerous, unrelenting in some areas (that you didn’t have to go to if you didn’t want), and begging you to adventure off the beaten path.

It would be wonderful to play in a big world again. Vanguard did quite well with this, but it simply wasn’t finished (the zones were empty or useless). A dangerous world and a diverse world (not just in looks but in feel and purpose) would also be welcome.

Factions – A subset of the world
I’ve chosen to include this as a subset of the world. The faction system in EQ created geographic domains for certain races. The humans of one city, the elves of another, etc. allowed players to create sub-communities that they could interact with. This gave players the opportunity to explore beyond them and created diversity and choice. Dark Elves may have been evil and KoS in the human city, but they could work on being eventually liked and tolerated enough to enter.

Classes
Fewer classes are better. For a long time I, along with many others, would look at a game with more classes and drool because “woah, they have 16 classes!” It didn’t take long to realize that this brought more trouble than it was worth. Less is more. Fewer classes means that each class has a defined role. The classes have identities and you’re not struggling to figure out which classes you need and don’t need, or what classes are supposed to fill what roles. A mage is a mage, a bard is a bard, etc.

Fewer classes also makes balancing easier for PvP and allows each class a much broader array of abilities so that the individual feels like there is more available to customize, strive for, specialize, etc.

Open Dungeons
This concept is gone completely now’days. EQ, DAOC, and Vanguard had them and they were wonderful. Open-world dungeons create a sense of community and local player interaction. The problem with instances is that it encourages your community to shrink and stop interacting beyond the group level.

By having all groups and all players within a dungeon have to coordinate, share, work together, and simply exist at the same time in the world is so beneficial. Why doesn’t this happen anymore? Throw in a few cinematic instanced experiences in the game if necessary and I don’t think that it would hurt anything either.

Grouping is beneficial
I’m not saying that one should be forced to group. I was never forced to group in EQ. I chose to group because it benefited me. Just like you’re forced to group in WoW to do an instance, you were forced to group in EQ to go into dungeons. No difference.

Imagine what a game would be like though if grouping for other things became beneficial. Since the world could offer more dangerous perils and adventures if it were like an EQ world, so too could it offer the opportunity to take advantage of them with others. Group exp bonuses and fun content is really all people need as incentive. Groups create community, and groups were everywhere in EQ.

Here’s world outside dungeon-like regions work really well. Imagine you’re on the path and see a really dark forest. It’s dense and you really can’t see what’s on the other side. You start to venture forth and you see monsters too tough to solo. You grab some friends and kill your way in deeper. Soon the forest opens up and reveals a vast chasm or tear in the world. Gnolls have infested the area and you can see their platforms and ladders leading down into the depths. Do you dare work your way in?

You don’t get that kind of experience solo or without the OPPORTUNITY to benefit from grouping.

Focus on the Journey, not just the Destination
In EverQuest it was all about your character and his/her progression through the world as you undertake one adventure after another. You were working on improving your character and becoming higher level, but there was (at least for the first few years) little emphasis on reading the max level.

With so many places to go, so many neat dungeons or zones to see, and so much to discover that could benefit your character, it never felt to me like I was racing to the end-game for anything. Games are not designed anymore where they treat level 20 with just as much importance as level 50.

Why should the low level content be any less important to the development and impact on the player as the highest level raid? That’s just it, they shouldn’t.

Do you know why I have so many fond memories of EQ? It’s because real memories were created every day, in every zone, with every new group of people I met. If you ask me today what my memories of WoW are it’s probably raiding that first comes to my mind.

It’s not all about the Quest
Questing is great. I’d love if it were more about big epic quests than kill ten rats but let’s not lose sight of keeping it positive. In addition to questing, why not allow for the outside dungeon experiences, open-world dungeons, and simply killing mobs in groups to be just as beneficial? No reason it can’t be. No reason to make the entire questing experience forgettable by just having it be WoW’s style of questing. Also no reason to get rid of the WoW type quests if people want them.

—————–

That’s plenty for now.

Can anyone tell me what it is about the above features or mechanics that would be classified as old-school or unwanted by today’s generation of players? What would make the above so terrible that one would dismiss them as “niche” and not something that developers could pitch to their investors who want big subscription numbers?

I think they could be mainstream selling points and features. Nothing that I’ve just shared is a negative feature. These are all features or mechanics from the EQ generation (many in DAOC too) that have not been adopted by today’s MMO developers.

Modernize these roots and add to them, but don’t sacrifice them. I can’t think of a single good reason to leave these out and I’m beginning to think it’s a lack of vision, talent, or a case of laziness that is steering developers towards the McMMO.

These would be the roots and foundation of my ideal EverQuest Next.  This fundamental foundation creates a strong community, a world that feels huge but connects the players to each other and the geography, and a diverse game that can attract and satisfy the needs of a much larger demographic.

Full post: WarhammerFeeds.com

Take the ‘Positive’ foundation from EQ and what do you get?

• EverQuest Next Details: SoE is luring me back in a big way
• WoW class overhaul brings big changes to the lower level gameplay
• EverQuest Next …. *prays*
• The First 20
• Being Asked To Leave A City Instance
• Anyone following Rift: Planes of Telara?
• RvR Changes on the Horizon
• Black Orc update – middle of tier 2
• Saturday night’s for fighting… and running away it seems
• Revisiting a Galaxy far, far away