Author Archives: SynCaine

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About SynCaine

Former hardcore raider turned casual gamer.

Great time to get off the DarkFall fence.

Posted on November 5, 2009 by SynCaine

For those who prefer real MMO gaming over Barbie accessories or playing a fairy, DarkFall transfers go live today, along with a special offer from Aventurine. Full info here, but basically totally new players can buy the game+6 months for … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, Patch Notes | 47 Comments

How many WoW pets does it take to forget China?

Posted on November 5, 2009 by SynCaine

I guess when the government shuts you out, it’s time to sell some fluff in the pasture. And when the market smacks your stock around the bean counters demand action, and what better way then to charge for Barbie accessories, … Continue reading →

Posted in Rant, RMT, World of Warcraft | 15 Comments

Dragon Age review

Posted on November 4, 2009 by SynCaine

Dragon Age Origins is out now, and much like I had hoped, it’s RPG gold once again from Bioware. I was cautiously optimistic about the game going in, and had avoided digging too deep into the pre-release hype, really only … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | 26 Comments

Beyond flamebait, why Aion’s struggles benefit me.

Posted on November 2, 2009 by SynCaine

On Friday I tossed out some flame bait with my post about Aion, and while it was mostly posted to cure Friday boredom (and not because I was upset, my sickeningly happy friend:) ), there is a very real aspect … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, Darkfall Online, MMO design, Rant | 45 Comments

Monday Morning quick thoughts

Posted on November 2, 2009 by SynCaine

This is a good read from a returning player to DarkFall, with the most important point coming in the comments: just like in any good sandbox game, you have to go out and find the fun rather than wait for … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Darkfall Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, Random | 14 Comments

Aion: Eminem’s “Kim” track, final verse, final line.

Posted on October 30, 2009 by SynCaine

Watching Aion bleed out in record time is, to be honest, enjoyable for me. Part of that just comes from my general dislike that the genre of gaming I enjoy most has, on the AAA level, gone from persistent worlds … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, Rant | 60 Comments

DarkFall: Bounty Hunter event aftermath.

Posted on October 29, 2009 by SynCaine

Last night the NA DarkFall server saw its first major player-driven event, a bounty hunter chase that went off very well considering it was the first of its kind in DF. I was able to log on just after the … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP | 6 Comments

DarkFall’s version of EVE University

Posted on October 28, 2009 by SynCaine

As frequent readers here know, one of the reasons I greatly prefer a sandbox MMO over a themepark is the amount of control players have in shaping their game and the world around them. While that control is a double … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Housing | 13 Comments

Dragon Age does hype the right way

Posted on October 27, 2009 by SynCaine

My anticipation for Dragon Age has been slowly ramping up, and not in the usual ‘watch ever movie/screen shot asap!’ way. I actually made it a point to avoid all that in order to keep the experience of playing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mass Media, Random | 8 Comments

More Aion vs Fallen Earth observations

Posted on October 26, 2009 by SynCaine

The trending examples provided by the recently released Aion and Fallen Earth continue, and some interesting if not entirely unexpected observations can be made. Today’s topic is player reaction, and how it differs when comparing a niche game (FE) versus … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, Fallen Earth, MMO design | 33 Comments