Monthly Archives: February 2008

WoW progress update.

Posted on February 29, 2008 by SynCaine

After leveling at a moderate pace, my shaman finally hit 58 and is now ready to cross over to Outland, where I’ll get my first glimpse of TBC content. In my previous time with WoW (beta to a few weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in PvP, Site update, World of Warcraft | Comments Off on WoW progress update.

Stop playing World of Warcraft, go play Starcraft Worlds!

Posted on February 27, 2008 by SynCaine

This might be a stretch and totally off base, but that’s part of the fun in writing a blog. You throw stuff out there, people to tell you that you are an idiot in your comments, and you enjoy the … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, PvP, Random, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments

It’s e-sports, not RMT… Trust us!

Posted on February 26, 2008 by SynCaine

Blizzard has been against micro-transactions for a while now, sticking with the monthly sub model. Unfortunately that only generated 500 million last year, so like any struggling company they had to go to desperate measures and accept the RMT model. … Continue reading →

Posted in PvP, Random, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

Learn to play in the sandbox correctly noob!

Posted on February 26, 2008 by SynCaine

There are many differences between sandbox and theme park MMOs, but I think one that often gets overlooked, at least by fans, is the one I want to get into today: the ability to play a sandbox MMO ‘wrong’. Wrong … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 11 Comments

Forgotten content in WoW.

Posted on February 25, 2008 by SynCaine

Over the weekend my shaman hit 55 in WoW after finishing up some quests in the Plaguelands, and I noticed just how much of that content is now wasted. Due to the fact that level 58+ greens in Outland are … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Running scared from the WoW monster. We need a hero!

Posted on February 22, 2008 by SynCaine

The first bits of ‘news’ are coming out of GDC, and one very interesting bit I read today comes from a discussion called ‘Future of MMOs’ featuring Cryptic Studios’ Jack Emmert, NCsoft Matt Miller, BioWare’s Ray Muzyka, Nexon’s Min Kim, … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

Understanding the casual player

Posted on February 21, 2008 by SynCaine

One of the longest running debates in the MMO world is the casual vs hardcore debate, and one aspect that has always confused me is the usual ‘solution’ you hear from the casual crowd to even the playing field. The … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 24 Comments

Damn you flu!

Posted on February 20, 2008 by SynCaine

The lack of updates is due to a nasty flu that hit me hard and is just now finally going away. In actually gaming news… well other than still working my way through The Witcher (still good, not sure about … Continue reading →

Posted in PvP, Random, Site update, The Witcher, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Weekend reading, but only for white people.

Posted on February 15, 2008 by SynCaine

Through the magic of the ‘Top Blogs’ list here at WordPress, I found this site. Very well written, and certainly some funny stuff.

Posted in Random | 1 Comment

Will Warhammer be good enough to overcome the inevitable PvP shock?

Posted on February 14, 2008 by SynCaine

The following is based on a few assumptions that are key to understanding my thinking here. Please keep them in mind when reading. Assumption one: Most MMO players have only played WoW. Assumption two: Most MMO players don’t know about … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 21 Comments