Monthly Archives: May 2014

A fresh start, or a kick out the door?

Posted on May 29, 2014 by SynCaine

When do you wipe an MMO? That question has been floating around Darkfall for a few days now, sparked by the massive dupe-fest that required a 5 day rollback, but grounded in the fact that the game has had major … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design | 8 Comments

Dupes and dupes?

Posted on May 27, 2014 by SynCaine

Finally back from work travel and a short vacation; has the genre fixed itself yet? It hasn’t, has it? Darkfall just had a fun bought with a massive dupe bug, one that apparently was very easy to reproduce so lots … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, The Elder Scrolls Online | 3 Comments

EVE Empires reminder, blog update

Posted on May 22, 2014 by SynCaine

Quick reminder that the Kickstarter for the EVE Empires  book is winding down, and if you want to jump in and own something that is likely to be very awesome, do so now. Blog has been slow this week as … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Kickstarter | 2 Comments

ESO: If you have played one zone, you have played them all

Posted on May 14, 2014 by SynCaine

If you have played one ESO zone, you have played them all. I think the above is the best way to sum up my feelings as of right now for ESO. It’s so simple, and yet I’m having trouble fully … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Rift, The Elder Scrolls Online | 30 Comments

EVE: History, now in hardcover

Posted on May 14, 2014 by SynCaine

EVE’s history book now has a hardcover option on Kickstarter! Easy +1 from me on that, especially since the hardcover will feature additional stories and art compared to the softcover. This will, in addition to being a great read, make … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Kickstarter | Comments Off on EVE: History, now in hardcover

DF:UW – Sacrificing the game at the altar of false choice

Posted on May 13, 2014 by SynCaine

I’ve hinted at this before, but now AV has made their plans for revamping the ‘class’ system in DF:UW public, and rather than post this to the limited audience of Forumfall, I’d rather it get more exposure here on this … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design | 9 Comments

EVE: Player control vs game restrictions

Posted on May 12, 2014 by SynCaine

Quick follow up to yesterday’s post. First, getting over the social hurdle in EVE (getting into a Corp) is not harder than in other MMOs. A new character won’t get into a top-tier raiding guild, just like a new pilot … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design | 15 Comments

EVE: Day one lessons not learned for 11 years

Posted on May 9, 2014 by SynCaine

There are easily dozens of “How to make an MMO” design lessons in this combat report from TAGN, but clearly the biggest one is that in EVE, a new player is able to not only see advanced content, but meaningfully … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design | 22 Comments

Clash of Clans – Clan Wars make you care

Posted on May 7, 2014 by SynCaine

Quick update on Clash of Clans, which I’m still really enjoying. Clan Wars were recently added, and so far they have been great. They take the core gameplay of attacking another player’s village with your troops, and add more weight … Continue reading →

Posted in iPhone | 2 Comments

ESO: Turn right, always turn right

Posted on May 5, 2014 by SynCaine

This image, showing just how often ESO uses the same layout for dungeons, is a great illustration of why what worked well in Skyrim doesn’t work as well in ESO. It’s almost part of the IP that you reuse stuff … Continue reading →

Posted in The Elder Scrolls Online | 12 Comments