Author Archives: SynCaine

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About SynCaine

Former hardcore raider turned casual gamer.

Funcom to AoC players, GTFO!

Posted on May 15, 2008 by SynCaine

I’ve been fairly harsh on Funcom and Age of Conan here on this blog. I ripped them for the whole ‘open’ beta fiasco, then for releasing a crash prone client due to a last minute ‘fix’, and finally the entire … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 42 Comments

Greater Barrows owns us, hard.

Posted on May 14, 2008 by SynCaine

Last night Aria and I made our first trip into the Greater Barrows instance in LoTRO. Our group featured all kin members save for the tank. Here is our fellowship: Level 25 and 21 burglars Level 20 guardian (the pug) … Continue reading →

Posted in Lord of the Rings Online | 13 Comments

Can my toaster run AoC? – Concerned Wal-Mart shopper

Posted on May 13, 2008 by SynCaine

There has been a good amount of debate lately about Funcom’s decision to release a high system requirements game with Age of Conan. The debate often drops into the very familiar ‘gameplay vs graphics’ debate. Leaving the gameplay aspect aside, … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Console Gaming, MMO design | 27 Comments

WotLK, too little too late?

Posted on May 12, 2008 by SynCaine

Blizzard went on a bit of an info spree this weekend, flooding sites with news about WotLK. Most of it sounds good, like the 10/25 man raid changes, better heroic itemization, and inscription. Some of it sounds a bit suspect, … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 17 Comments

LoTRO progress update.

Posted on May 9, 2008 by SynCaine

A quick LoTRO update today to end the week. Aria and I hit level 18 after wrapping up our first trip into the Barrows. Since most of the quests in that place are multi-part, we will be making another trip … Continue reading →

Posted in Lord of the Rings Online, Site update | 10 Comments

Remember the LoTRO beta?

Posted on May 7, 2008 by SynCaine

Quick thought that popped into my head just now: remember how polished and smooth the LoTRO beta felt? The game levels 1-15 seemed amazing during beta, with great quests, landscapes, and story. It was not until release that we all … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, MMO design | Tagged | 5 Comments

Age of Conan, say hello to Auto Assault, your new roommate.

Posted on May 7, 2008 by SynCaine

The current buzz in our little corner of the MMO blog world is all about the AoC beta and the game’s approaching release. Most sources are reporting major issues, both gameplay wise and on the tech side, ranging from sub-par … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, EVE Online, PvP, Vanguard, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 35 Comments

Time to make this blog do some work for me…

Posted on May 6, 2008 by SynCaine

Long shot here, but does anyone work for, or know someone at Turbine Entertainment? If you do, please email me. (syncaine at yahoo dot com) Thanks everyone. /end shameless usage of blog for personal gain

Posted in Random | 7 Comments

Too WoW-like, a positive or negative?

Posted on May 5, 2008 by SynCaine

Tobold has a post up today questioning the wisdom of designing an MMO with features too similar to WoW, speaking specifically about Age of Conan. His point is that why would someone play something WoW-like when they could just play … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Dark Age of Camelot, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Pirates of the Burning Sea, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 23 Comments

I will kill you with nagging

Posted on May 2, 2008 by SynCaine

Between my Man Captain and Aria’s Elf Minstrel, your little duo+herald do a LOT of yelling. I mean like 3-4 yells a regular mob. We kill bosses by making either eardrums bleed. I don’t mind the yelling, it’s kinda cool … Continue reading →

Posted in Lord of the Rings Online, Random | 4 Comments