Monthly Archives: June 2011

‘Accessibility’ killed Rift

Posted on June 16, 2011 by SynCaine

Some very perceptive readers have picked up on the fact that Rift has somewhat fallen out of favor with me. It might have been my post about patch 1.2. I did drop a few hints there. Patch 1.2 brought the … Continue reading →

Posted in Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, Rift, World of Warcraft | 42 Comments

Oh how topical

Posted on June 15, 2011 by SynCaine

Breaking news: CPP > others. I know, I’m shocked. Literally the first time this has happened, ever. Silly mega-niche hardcore PvP devs and their crazy ideas. Any bets how Bobby ‘borrows’ and screws this up? My bet is “pay to … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, RMT | 29 Comments

I’d like to pay $100 for M&B: Warband

Posted on June 15, 2011 by SynCaine

M&B:Warband continues to dominate my time, and I’m beginning to feel a little bit like a thief. I mean, I picked the game up on a Steam sale for $10, and yet at well over 200+ hours played, I feel … Continue reading →

Posted in Mount and Blade: Warband, RMT, Site update | 17 Comments

Options vs Momentum

Posted on June 13, 2011 by SynCaine

Whenever P2P vs F2P models get debated, the F2P crowd likes to point to the fact that most people will only pay one monthly sub at a time, which greatly limits how many games one can play in a given … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random, Rant, RMT | 5 Comments

Oh Bobby, you dumb gamer-hating puppet

Posted on June 9, 2011 by SynCaine

Linking to this because it’s hilarious. Only thing better would have been for the EA rep to inform Bobby’s aid that the BF3 demo is for gamers only, and that he is not ‘elite’ enough to see it. Sell that … Continue reading →

Posted in Mass Media, Random, Rant | 20 Comments

Tarnished brilliance

Posted on June 9, 2011 by SynCaine

I’ve written about this before, but for some strange reason (solar flare?) it’s on my mind again today, so here we go. I hate Atlantica Online. I mean I hate it in that “I love you, I hate you, oh … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, Combat Systems, MMO design, PvP, Rant, RMT | 11 Comments

Rift: How bad is the PvP?

Posted on June 8, 2011 by SynCaine

Rift PvP is bad. I don’t know if it’s historically “all time” bad, but it’s at least close. It has, more or less, nothing going for it. The warfronts are meh, the balance is off, and the entire end-game aspect … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, MMO design, PvP, Rift | 29 Comments

Rift: Today and tomorrow

Posted on June 7, 2011 by SynCaine

The release of the 1.3 update trailer seems like a pretty good time to give everyone here an update on my status with Rift, and the plans going forward. The 1.2 update, quite simply, killed 5 man dungeons for Inquisition. … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Darkfall Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rift | 19 Comments

M&B:W PoP army issue

Posted on June 6, 2011 by SynCaine

I’ve been playing a good amount of Mount and Blade: Warband (PoP mod) lately, especially with the newest version of PoP having fixed my last crashing issue. The game is pretty damn epic with everything maxed out, battle size set … Continue reading →

Posted in Mount and Blade: Warband, Random, SW:TOR | 3 Comments

Consensual murder

Posted on June 3, 2011 by SynCaine

Is killing someone in a FFA PvP MMO a malicious act? Eliot Lefebvre’s Daily Grind post today asks if FFA PvP is a dealbreak in an MMO for people, and not surprisingly for most it is, but that one line … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Mass Media, PvP, Ultima Online | 11 Comments