Category Archives: Asheron’s Call

The more things change…

Posted on December 1, 2011 by SynCaine

Timing is everything. Today Raph has a post showing a 3-part “History of MMOs” video. (well worth watching btw, especially for those who started playing post-2004) Also today Tobold has a post about how bots could easily play certain MMOs … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Console Gaming, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Random, Rant, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 13 Comments

1997 all over again?

Posted on November 16, 2011 by SynCaine

Whether it’s at MMOCrunch, over at Keen’s site, or even here, a lot of people are expressing interest and excitement over the possibility of a more “open world” MMO. This confused me initially, considering WoW and other linear-world games are … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Mass Media, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online | 19 Comments

Bad content burns you out

Posted on September 28, 2011 by SynCaine

While talking about the fun curve, Tobold addressed something he and I have been going back and forth on for a bit: do you burn-out on an MMO, or do you quit because the game changed? Before we go on, … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, MMO design, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 33 Comments

30 minutes to cap

Posted on September 23, 2011 by SynCaine

Tobold’s post today does a nice job of summarizing what’s gone wrong with MMOs in the last few years in terms of design. The best example is this part: If you consider a theoretical MMORPG with an infinite number of … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, Rant, Rift, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 20 Comments

2000 hours with EQ, 5 minutes with the kids.

Posted on September 22, 2011 by SynCaine

2000 hours to hit the original level cap in EQ1 is not the reason EQ1 was ‘hard’ (not a great way to really look at this, but more on that later). A harsh death penalty wasn’t it either. Nor was … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, DDO, EQ2, EVE Online, Global Agenda, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 14 Comments

Turning RPG players into MMO players: Solutions

Posted on August 8, 2011 by SynCaine

As first mentioned here, there seem to be a high number of RPG fans who turn to MMOs to get their gaming fix, yet most MMOs do a rather poor job of getting those solo-minded players into what really makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 13 Comments

Celebrating 12 years of themepark hate

Posted on May 12, 2011 by SynCaine

My enjoyment of virtual worlds goes back to Ultima Online, in large part because I loved the sRPG Ultima games, growing up on Ultima V and always being jealous of a friend who had a PC and had Ultima VI … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Random, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 36 Comments

Rift: 1.2 Update and World Events

Posted on April 26, 2011 by SynCaine

The upcoming 1.2 update to Rift is pretty substantial, and considering what 1.1 brought just a month ago, Trion is keeping to a brisk pace for updates. Part of me wants to cheer, the other part sits here, nods, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rift, World of Warcraft | 4 Comments

Patching like its 1999

Posted on April 1, 2011 by SynCaine

I appreciate the rapid pace of patching. It’s impressive, even by “first month of a new MMO” standards. And as we saw with 1.1, the updates are not all just bug fixes but actual content additions. Major bonus points for … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, EQ2, EVE Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rift, World of Warcraft | 7 Comments

Not all themeparks are created equally

Posted on February 24, 2011 by SynCaine

Going to comment on something Tobold wrote today, related to Rift launching and how themeparks are similar. Here is the piece I want to focus on: But I do know that Rift is not completely unlike World of Warcraft. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, beta, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, Rift, World of Warcraft | 8 Comments