Category Archives: Combat Systems

SW:TOR – How is the end-game?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by SynCaine

Random thought: What if the end-game in SW:TOR is awesome? Most people right now are talking about the leveling experience in SW. The pace, the voice, the story, the mechanics, etc. And rightfully so in many ways. Pre-release, almost all … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, MMO design, PvP, Rant, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments

It’s only a problem if you can’t afford it

Posted on December 7, 2011 by SynCaine

I find the discussion around gold ammo/tanks/accounts in WoT fascinating for a number of reasons, and the subject reveals a lot about gamers and their tolerance for different things, especially in a PvP game. First let’s start with some facts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Allods Online, Atlantica Online, Combat Systems, League of Legends, PvP, Rant, RMT | 25 Comments

Gamer evolution, 30 minutes a day

Posted on November 4, 2011 by SynCaine

Time requirements and complexity in gaming are clearly not the same thing, but they are linked. The more complex your game, the more time required to learn it. But a game can be both ‘simple’ and incredibly hard (Meatboy), or … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Console Gaming, EVE Online, League of Legends, MMO design, PvP, Random, World of Warcraft | 2 Comments

EVE: On-demand complexity

Posted on November 1, 2011 by SynCaine

From the outside looking in, EVE appears to be a terribly complex game, and in many ways it is. Something as simple as firing a turret at another ship has a lot of math behind it, and an almost countless … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, EVE Online, MMO design | 11 Comments

I want sand in every genre

Posted on October 20, 2011 by SynCaine

I prefer a TBS game (Final Fantasy Tactics-like games) that lets me build my party from scratch over one that gives me pre-made party members. This post is not about any one specific game, just some random thoughts. Creating the … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Random | 5 Comments

Dungeon Defenders: Flawed fun

Posted on October 20, 2011 by SynCaine

I played Dungeon Defenders last night, having purchased it as a 4-pack with my regular gaming buddies, for about five hours (casually, yo). I think the fact that we played it for five hours straight says a lot right there, … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Console Gaming, Random | 5 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

Twit generation is in my MMO

Posted on September 19, 2011 by SynCaine

First, can we please stop qualifying Facebook games? “Not bad, for a Facebook game”. We don’t do it with TV (oh that show was terrible, but it was on a 3rd rate network so it was decent), we don’t do … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Global Agenda, iPhone, Mass Media, MMO design, Mount and Blade: Warband, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 28 Comments

This is what happens when the MMO genre sucks and I have ‘nothing to play’

Posted on September 6, 2011 by SynCaine

Random thoughts blog incoming. Played a little more Heroes 6 beta 2. Huge improvement from beta 1. All the little UI errors are gone, skills and spells make a lot more sense now, and the multiplayer is much better. I … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Combat Systems, Global Agenda, Random | 15 Comments

Darkfall: The only option

Posted on August 26, 2011 by SynCaine

To continue the blog merger, I’ll pick up where I left off on the reset topic and how it applies to Darkfall. It’s true that a character reset would cut millions of players from WoW, or thousands off games like … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, Darkfall Online, Housing, MMO design | 8 Comments