Author Archives: SynCaine

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About SynCaine

Former hardcore raider turned casual gamer.

PotBS this weekend, along with some EVE time.

Posted on October 5, 2007 by SynCaine

Pirates open beta/stress test is going down this weekend, looking forward to it. Not so much because I’ve been really looking forward to Pirates, but just to try it and see what all the hype is about. I honestly have … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Pirates of the Burning Sea | 1 Comment

Why not having fun is fun.

Posted on October 4, 2007 by SynCaine

Darren over at Common Sense Gamer has a post up commenting on a Gamesutra article, which contained the following: “The biggest lessons I’d like to see products like World Of Warcraft and other traditional, retail games learn are: 1) Free … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design | Comments Off on Why not having fun is fun.

Search Engine fun.

Posted on October 4, 2007 by SynCaine

WordPress has a nice feature that shows you what internet search terms were used to find this blog. Most are somewhat generic and not very entertaining, but once in a while, you get a gem. Below are a few of … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | 2 Comments

How do we judge skill in an MMO?

Posted on October 3, 2007 by SynCaine

Tobold made a post today asking what should be rewarded in an MMO. Halfway through posting a comment I realized it was getting a bit lengthy, so instead we get this post. Tobold is correct in his statement that an … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, World of Warcraft | Comments Off on How do we judge skill in an MMO?

Darklight Woods, and a quick trip to Jita.

Posted on October 3, 2007 by SynCaine

We finally made it to level 17 in EQ2, and are still having a good time with it. The gf and I are finishing up Darklight Woods, and the zone is getting more interesting as we get further into it. … Continue reading →

Posted in EQ2, EVE Online | Comments Off on Darklight Woods, and a quick trip to Jita.

More ‘Sword of Insta-pwn’ talk, and why EVE is better than WoW/EQ!

Posted on October 2, 2007 by SynCaine

If you go look at any item database website, you can easily look up any mob in WoW or EQ2 and find out exactly what item could drop off said mob, especially raid bosses. Long before most people kill Illidan … Continue reading →

Posted in EQ2, EVE Online, MILK Corp, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 4 Comments

Endgame, pick your poison.

Posted on October 1, 2007 by SynCaine

Recently I was thinking about the past MMOs I’ve played and the different ‘end game’ systems they offered. Some had raiding (WoW, LoTRO), some had PvP (DAoC, AC on Darktide, Lineage) and others left it open-ended (UO, EVE). Anyone who … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

EVE weekend, WAR hype, and Gothic 3.

Posted on October 1, 2007 by SynCaine

Played a lot of EVE this weekend, which is definitely a good thing. I finally feel like my skills are catching up to me Ferox, and I’m getting more out of it. Perhaps in a day or two it will … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MILK Corp, Warhammer Online | 1 Comment

The Game of Thrones, MMO style.

Posted on September 28, 2007 by SynCaine

Tobold today made a post about the possible successor to WoW, listing some upcoming MMOs and commenting on their chance for success. As always, it’s a good read, but I think he ignores one aspect of the MMO market; games … Continue reading →

Posted in EQ2, EVE Online, Ultima Online, Vanguard, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 2 Comments

A look ahead, and why can’t I have the Sword of Leetness+5?

Posted on September 27, 2007 by SynCaine

Playing EVE Online, EQ2, and Sword of the New World all at the same time gives you a very interesting view of where MMOs are today. Two of the games (EVE, EQ2) were released a few years back, but both … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, EQ2, EVE Online, MMO design, SotNW, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 9 Comments