Category Archives: beta

Today’s Rift Hype: The carebears will stare but won’t care

Posted on February 11, 2011 by SynCaine

Basically this. Finally, carebears will play by carebear rules on their PvE servers, and the sociopaths who do nothing but grief noobs will play by their rules on the PvP servers. How hard was this to do? How hard is … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, PvP, Rift, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments

Accepting beta feedback: I don’t even…

Posted on February 10, 2011 by SynCaine

From Ravious at KTR: Trion Worlds said that the game is on such a stable base that the devs are actually able to work on requested game improvements that are received through beta feedback rather than trying to plow through … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Rift | 13 Comments

Rift: Breaking things down a bit

Posted on February 7, 2011 by SynCaine

On Friday a good question was raised regarding Rift: what does WoW 2004 mean, and why does Rift have it over themepark MMO X? Part of this is, of course, highly subjective. What I feel is a plus for Rift … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Rift, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Rift Beta 6: That old WoW feeling

Posted on February 4, 2011 by SynCaine

Rift beta 6 starts this weekend, and I’m actually looking forward to it even more than beta 5 (in part because I’ve learned they don’t wipe character, so Aria and I will actually get to see the 15+ish game, including … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, EQ2, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, Rift, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments

Dear Trion: Entry #1

Posted on January 31, 2011 by SynCaine

Dear Trion:, Add a ‘quest item’ hotbar button to the default UI. Anytime I have an item that I need to use during a quest, it goes into that slot. Nothing else can be placed there. The slot should be … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Rift | 31 Comments

Quick notes from Rift beta 5

Posted on January 26, 2011 by SynCaine

Aria and I put in some time with the Rift 5 beta last night and enjoyed ourselves. The Guardian starting area is IMO much better than that of the Defiant in terms of feeling MMO-ish rather than super on-rails. After … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Rift | 12 Comments

Zero relation, I’m sure

Posted on January 10, 2011 by SynCaine

Blog post with the most comments? This one, about the EQ2 installer being super fast and accurate. Lum today, about SOE having some trouble with DCO related to uninstalling. Just sayin’.

Posted in beta, EQ2, Random | 7 Comments

Massively goes EG, I go Tobold.

Posted on January 5, 2011 by SynCaine

I apologize for the “All Warband All The Time” interruption, but I think this is worth posting about. Massively did a quick impressions piece about Rift, which includes Jef playing it for an hour, and the comments explode with people … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Mass Media, MMO design, Rift, World of Warcraft | 20 Comments

Rift Review (EG Style)

Posted on December 29, 2010 by SynCaine

Two days, two ‘reviews’ :snicker:, I spoil you guys! I like the graphic style of Rift. It’s high fantasy, but it has enough of those little details to not make it totally forgettable. Bonus points for all the graphical options … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Rift | 86 Comments

Civ V, The Witcher, M&B:W, and Rift beta

Posted on December 28, 2010 by SynCaine

Some random notes for today: Played two games of the scenario included in the first DLC for Civilization V, very entertaining. It’s rather short (limited to 100 turns), somewhat easy (the other sides don’t play with the sense of urgency … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Civilization Series, Random, Rift, The Witcher | 5 Comments