Author Archives: SynCaine

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About SynCaine

Former hardcore raider turned casual gamer.

Hell officially freezes over

Posted on January 16, 2013 by SynCaine

What The Fuck? Obviously overall this is awesome. F2P MMOs that are actually good games growing up and becoming sub games is a thing that should happen. I’ve said over and over that I’d pay $30 a month or more to play a sub-based … Continue reading →

Posted in Allods Online, Rant, RMT | 11 Comments

7 minutes in heaven, a month of hell

Posted on January 16, 2013 by SynCaine

One point that I don’t think I made clear enough in my post about UO’s combat was that the slower pace and simplicity leads to longer retention, and so today I want to expand on that a bit (in horribly … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online | 30 Comments

Lessons from the past: MMO combat

Posted on January 14, 2013 by SynCaine

Keen alerted me to a private version/server of Ultima Online, and due to extreme boredom I grabbed the client and messed around a bit. I have no intention of fully returning to UO, because to really get to the good … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Ultima Online | 11 Comments

Boxed in

Posted on January 10, 2013 by SynCaine

I bet you are wondering why I’m blogging less huh? Yea, I figured you were. Darkfall NDA is mostly to blame. MMO genre being a pile of crap is another factor. I mean, not only is there not a title … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Civilization Series, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant, SW:TOR, The Witcher | 19 Comments

Troubled Witcher, returning to Skyrim

Posted on January 7, 2013 by SynCaine

Despite trying, I just can’t get into The Witcher 2. It’s a gorgeous game, I loved the first title, and I have time for an RPG right now while waiting for :NDA:, but I just can’t do it. The main … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | 11 Comments

The Niche is Real

Posted on January 4, 2013 by SynCaine

Massively has linked to a video about 38 Studios. It’s worth watching. In the comments section, there is a link to an article about the entire thing. I’m pretty sure I’ve read it before, and perhaps even linked it here, … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Random, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 11 Comments

Honest Pay-2-Win

Posted on January 2, 2013 by SynCaine

Quick note before I get to the topic for today: Is it just me, or is The Witcher 2 freaking hard? I have the game on Normal after doing the tutorial, and I’m getting my ass handed to me every … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, DDO, Random, Rant, RMT | 11 Comments

This Steam sale…

Posted on December 28, 2012 by SynCaine

Is it just me, or is this Steam sale a bit weak? A lot of titles are still at their original prices, and at 50% off they still come out to $20+. Plus other than FTL (awesome), I’m not seeing … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | 12 Comments

What 2012 was, and what 2013 will be

Posted on December 26, 2012 by SynCaine

The good for me in 2012 was more of the same (EVE, LoL), while the bad was highlighted by disappointment (GW2) and delay (DF:UW). The MMO genre as a whole continued to struggle with its identity, from massive failures like … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, League of Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 18 Comments

Still here

Posted on December 24, 2012 by SynCaine

Fear not, I’m still here. The DF NDA is killing me, lot of items to blog about, both good and bad. Steam sale is going on, but so far nothing amazing has come up.

Posted in beta, Darkfall Online | Comments Off on Still here