Category Archives: SW:TOR

WoW is dead. Long live WoW!

Posted on September 12, 2019 by SynCaine

WoW Retail, born Nov 23rd, 2004, has sadly passed away at the age of (almost) 15 on Aug 26th, 2019. Cause of death: WoW Classic. RIP in peace. Ever since WoW Retail become a monster hit sometime around 2005, ‘WoW … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Rant, Rift, SW:TOR, Tobold being Wrong, Trion being Trion, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 19 Comments

MTX is a long-term model, so think long-term

Posted on December 4, 2017 by SynCaine

I posted a few days ago, on the discussion of MTX, that good games do well, and bad games don’t (really a next-level statement if you think about it long enough). While I still stand by that bold proclamation, today … Continue reading →

Posted in Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, EVE Online, League of Legends, MMO design, RMT, SW:TOR | 4 Comments

Think we can put a hotbar inside a loot box?

Posted on November 15, 2017 by SynCaine

First off, when did SW:TOR let go of the hotbar saleman? Who the hell is selling you chunks of the UI for the low low price of ‘bend over this barrel please’ in that dumpster fire of a game now? … Continue reading →

Posted in Rant, RMT, SW:TOR | 4 Comments

Rigging, lockboxes, and all the innocent children!

Posted on October 27, 2017 by SynCaine

The topic of lockboxes and matchmaking rigging is making its way around the blog world of late, so lets pile on another post to the fire. I’ll use Az’s post about it as a starting point, because I think it … Continue reading →

Posted in ARK, Camelot Unchained, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Crowfall, League of Legends, MMO design, PUBG, PvP, Rant, RMT, Star Citizen, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 19 Comments

PUBG is to 2017 what WoW was to 2004

Posted on September 14, 2017 by SynCaine

The parallels between the current explosive growth and influence of PUBG and WoW back in 2004 are many, though there are also some very interesting differences. Neither game was the first in its genre. WoW wasn’t the first MMO, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, League of Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, Rift, SOE being SOE, SW:TOR, Tobold being Wrong, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 2 Comments

SW:TOR and HotS win big!

Posted on December 16, 2016 by SynCaine

Hotbar salesman wins big award! Congrats to all those working on SW:TOR for proving that just because so many others are a cesspit of terrible decisions, that doesn’t mean you should rest on your laurels and just sell hotbars. Put … Continue reading →

Posted in Mass Media, MMO design, Random, RMT, SW:TOR | 2 Comments

Warhammer Online killed the MMO genre

Posted on January 19, 2016 by SynCaine

Sensationalized blog title for all of the clicks! Except not really, because WAR really did kill the MMO genre, at least in terms of being a mainstream genre similar in popularity to say RPGs, Sports titles, or FPS. Now don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Camelot Unchained, Crowfall, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, Star Citizen, SW:TOR, Uncategorized, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

2015 predictions review

Posted on December 15, 2015 by SynCaine

Prompted by Wilhelm again, lets look back at my 2015 predictions. DF:UW will shut down. The population is at an all-time low, AV is completely lost with the title, and Forumfall continues to stick daggers into the one game even … Continue reading →

Posted in ArcheAge, Camelot Unchained, Clash of Clans, Crowfall, Darkfall Online, EQNext, EVE Online, Final Fantasy XIV, Kickstarter, League of Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, Random, Site update, SOE being SOE, SW:TOR, Trion being Trion, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

SW:TOR – Good enough to be a sub MMO again?

Posted on June 17, 2015 by SynCaine

Two observations about the ‘big’ SW:TOR expansion announcement (based only on reading Rohan mostly, since lulz actually playing SW:TOR): Bit early to call SW:TOR trying to save itself here as it going the FFXIV route. FFXIV isn’t special in so … Continue reading →

Posted in RMT, SW:TOR | 20 Comments

Troll day continues, hotbar salesman is back!

Posted on March 4, 2015 by SynCaine

So so good! Embracing the Paradigm Shift: Converting a Premium Team to an (Enthusiastic!) Freemium Team First of all, how great is that title for that talk? Reminds me of “Up in the Air” (awesome movie btw) when they talk … Continue reading →

Posted in Mass Media, RMT, SW:TOR | 5 Comments