Author Archives: SynCaine

Unknown's avatar

About SynCaine

Former hardcore raider turned casual gamer.

DarkFall Trial, for real.

Posted on February 24, 2010 by SynCaine

Aventurine has announced that DarkFall now has a trial account option. It’s not a totally free account, as you will have to pay $1 (or euro) for 7 days of access, but that is a good step taken to prevent … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, Site update | 37 Comments

DarkFall: The voice of the vets and the sign of the noobs

Posted on February 23, 2010 by SynCaine

It’s time to cover a few recent developments in DarkFall. The first is a rather excellent bit of work done by the community that can be found here. The website is a collection of ideas and changes the veterans of … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Patch Notes, PvP | 10 Comments

The concept of ‘easy’ in MMO land

Posted on February 22, 2010 by SynCaine

A while back GameMonkey made this post, basically stating that “easy is fun”, and that easy is one of the keys to reaching the mass market. He later goes on to state in the comments that the easy version of … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Console Gaming, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 39 Comments

F2P model in the US: Putting nails in its own coffin

Posted on February 21, 2010 by SynCaine

Back in the early days of the “F2P revolution”, the biggest challenge for the average MMO gamer was trying so sift through the hundreds of terribad titles to find the one or two semi-decent (for a ‘free’ game) titles to … Continue reading →

Posted in Allods Online, Atlantica Online, FreeRealms, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, RMT | 20 Comments

The cash shop forest

Posted on February 19, 2010 by SynCaine

Riddle me this: If no one spends money in the cash shop, does the cash shop exist? Because  aren’t you then left with just a free MMO where once again time (and if possible, player skill) are the only factors? … Continue reading →

Posted in Allods Online, beta, MMO design, RMT | 33 Comments

Oh yes, I love crack – I’m absolutely coo coo for crack

Posted on February 19, 2010 by SynCaine

Stupid life set to be ruined in the Fall of 2010. Thanks again Sid, you damn crack-peddling bastard! Hex-based and a new engine, who do you think you are, a gaming god?!? Tip to Darren.

Posted in Civilization Series | 10 Comments

Dear EuroGamer, this is how you do it.

Posted on February 18, 2010 by SynCaine

In a shocking development, a game reviewer tries to pass off a half-assed review of a smaller title and slams it for lulz, only to have that niche community call him out on it. The true shocker here of course … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, Mass Media | 16 Comments

F2P games: nice for the price, or actual competition?

Posted on February 18, 2010 by SynCaine

Something I’ve noticed for a while now, that’s really come to the foreground with the release of Allods, is how some people play both sides of the fence when talking about Free to Play MMOs. In one sentence they will … Continue reading →

Posted in Allods Online, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, RMT, World of Warcraft | 21 Comments

DarkFall: Finally more beavers!

Posted on February 17, 2010 by SynCaine

For a patch out of left field, this is a nice (if a bit cryptic: mob run speed, faster/slower?) list. And just when I had wrapped-up questing in the human lands, out comes this update. To the carebear mobile! What’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, Patch Notes | 3 Comments

Allods Online: ‘Open beta’ day 1

Posted on February 17, 2010 by SynCaine

Tell me if this sounds slightly familiar: overcrowding, spawn-stealing, loot lag, idiot chat, kill/collect 10 whatevers. Nope, it’s not 2004 and WoW, it’s 2010 and Allods Online. Amazing how far we have come after all these years! But it’s cool … Continue reading →

Posted in Allods Online, beta, Combat Systems, MMO design, Rant, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments