Monthly Archives: April 2011

Gear sucks

Posted on April 20, 2011 by SynCaine

Permanent gear is a massive design flaw in an MMO. Keep that in mind while reading. Inquisition on Sunrest has been running tier one experts for a bit now, and our general core is geared-up enough to start hitting up … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Rant, Rift | 32 Comments

PvE Sandbox MMO: The End

Posted on April 19, 2011 by SynCaine

I believe I’ve covered the main areas I wanted to hit on in my PvE Sandbox series. There are a ton of other, smaller systems to consider and discuss, but to keep things somewhat high-level I’ll leave it as is. … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random | 11 Comments

Rift: Grim Harvest world event was AWESOME!

Posted on April 18, 2011 by SynCaine

This is why I love world events. It’s not for the loot, it’s not for the lore, and it’s not for the gameplay. No no. It’s for the forum rage. And Rift delivered beyond anything short of League of Legends … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Rift | 26 Comments

Rift: Soul system working as intended

Posted on April 15, 2011 by SynCaine

Quick Rift observation for today, and next week I’ll wrap up the PvE Sandbox MMO series (which, btw, I think has gone really well, so thanks everyone for the feedback so far). Last night we ran expert Iron Tombs again, … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Rift | 15 Comments

The future looks so bright!

Posted on April 14, 2011 by SynCaine

Kinda sad when even your own fansites accept reality and just cave in. Comment thread is off to a good start too. If you re-re-introduce NAX, do you hope it’s a 5 man, or go all out for an ‘epic’ … Continue reading →

Posted in World of Warcraft | 17 Comments

Single Serving Friends

Posted on April 14, 2011 by SynCaine

I wasn’t going to make a post about this, but then the ancient relic known as Blogger ate yet another of my comments, and well, here we are. Tobold first had a post about how the cross-server dungeon finder is … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Rant, Rift, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments

PvE Sandbox MMO: Housing

Posted on April 13, 2011 by SynCaine

If combat and the economy are the two most important areas for a sandbox MMO, player housing is the most neglected. It says a lot about the genre as a whole when the very first MMO, Ultima Online, had and … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Housing, MMO design, Random, Ultima Online | 21 Comments

PvE Sandbox MMO: Economy and crafting

Posted on April 12, 2011 by SynCaine

After combat, I believe the economy is the most important aspect to a quality sandbox title, and not just for those hoping to play a merchant. The ideal system would impact everyone playing on a regular basis rather than being … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Housing, MMO design, Random | 34 Comments

Burnouts Anonymous

Posted on April 11, 2011 by SynCaine

Quick break from the PvE Sandbox series to make an observation about Rift, but no worries (you were worried, I could tell), another post in that series is coming soon. Over a month in and I’m still having a ton … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 27 Comments

PvE Sandbox MMO: Combat

Posted on April 7, 2011 by SynCaine

The first area I’m going to tackle for the PvE Sandbox is combat, as I think it’s the glue that holds everything together and really sets the tone for the type of game you are playing. It also fuels other … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random | 20 Comments