Author Archives: SynCaine

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About SynCaine

Former hardcore raider turned casual gamer.

Yes yes, but its FREE garbage!

Posted on August 9, 2012 by SynCaine

Catching up on blogs, and I just came across this line from Lum: Everything is free to play, because the financial barrier entry for MMOs is fiercely competitive and in the end it’s very difficult to compete with zero. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 29 Comments

Civilization V multiplayer is good

Posted on August 9, 2012 by SynCaine

My friend and I have finally moved on from playing Heroes 6 multiplayer, primarily due to the AI. On most maps, it’s just terrible, and even at the highest difficulty you simply can’t get a decent game out of it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilization Series | 1 Comment

Captain Gevlon going down with the Tortanic

Posted on August 8, 2012 by SynCaine

And… back! Vacation was very nice, thanks for asking. TAGN did a very nice job filling in for me on the SW:TOR failure front. I agree with everything in his post, and will only add one thing; while it’s obvious … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Rant, RMT, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 12 Comments

How I paid for my vacation

Posted on July 26, 2012 by SynCaine

I knew buying Zynga was a brilliant move! At some point, one of these ‘expert analysts’ is going to mention that, perhaps, in order to make money in the gaming sector, you might want to try making a good game, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mass Media, Rant, RMT | 6 Comments

Vacation time

Posted on July 25, 2012 by SynCaine

I’m off on no-Internet vacation until August 6th, so this blog will be quiet until then. When I get back I’ll be sure to talk a little about SW:TOR shutting down (that’s still scheduled for next week, right?), as well … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, Site update, SW:TOR | 4 Comments

EVE: Flying in the Alliance Tournament

Posted on July 25, 2012 by SynCaine

Jester has a bunch of excellent Alliance Tourney posts up, but I like this one the most (so far). It’s a great look behind the scenes of one of the more unique experiences you can have in the MMO genre. … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, EVE Online, PvP | 2 Comments

I ruined SW:TOR I guess

Posted on July 24, 2012 by SynCaine

How is it that this is the first time I’m seeing SW:TOR being referred to as “Tortanic”? That’s brilliant and I wish I had thought of it. Also I guess I’ll take the blame for SW:TOR here, as back in … Continue reading →

Posted in Mass Media, SW:TOR | 40 Comments

Mainstream dilution, core gamer evolution

Posted on July 20, 2012 by SynCaine

I’m glad people enjoyed the article I linked to yesterday, and I wish I had seen it earlier as I really believe it does an excellent job breaking down how certain companies approach creating ‘games’ and also who is actually … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random, Rant, RMT | 16 Comments

Best thing written about gaming (ever?)

Posted on July 19, 2012 by SynCaine

This is required reading. If you don’t read this start to finish right meow you will be forced to turn in your “gamer” card. My thoughts on all of it are coming ‘soon’. H/T to Shiolle for the link.

Posted in MMO design, Random, RMT | 28 Comments

It’s not contagious, is it?

Posted on July 18, 2012 by SynCaine

Grade-A trolling folks. Just next level blogging at its finest. If we could get more of this kind of content and less D&D, Tobold might be worth reading again. After reading Tobold, go re-read EA Louse. It was great the … Continue reading →

Posted in Rant, RMT, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online | 14 Comments