Category Archives: Dark Age of Camelot

Reviewing my 2019 predictions

Posted on December 13, 2019 by SynCaine

Prompted by TAGN, it’s time to review my 2019 predictions. WoW Classic: It launched, and I did run a guild. Initially we had a lot of interest pre-release, but then oddly the overall interest splintered into a few different groups, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crowfall, Dark Age of Camelot, Inquisition Clan, Site update, World of Warcraft | 3 Comments

The broken promise of the MMO genre

Posted on November 8, 2019 by SynCaine

Could you imagine playing the same videogame for a decade? Ten years, one game? If this question was asked in the 90s, it would seem silly. That would be at least two generations of consoles, and PC hardware was changing … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Clash of Clans, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Final Fantasy XIV, iPhone, League of Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 7 Comments

WoW is gankbox, EVE is not

Posted on July 7, 2017 by SynCaine

And the gankbox discussion continues. What I find most interesting about all of this is that it reveals just how little most people understand about MMO design, or even what they themselves want in an MMO. Let’s talk about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 8 Comments

Warhammer Online killed the MMO genre

Posted on January 19, 2016 by SynCaine

Sensationalized blog title for all of the clicks! Except not really, because WAR really did kill the MMO genre, at least in terms of being a mainstream genre similar in popularity to say RPGs, Sports titles, or FPS. Now don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Camelot Unchained, Crowfall, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, Star Citizen, SW:TOR, Uncategorized, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

Subtraction by addition

Posted on September 3, 2014 by SynCaine

One of the lazier strawmen in MMO blogging land is to dismiss the success of an older MMO by stating that fewer people play it today. I’m sure you have read some version of “If UO did so many things … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, DDO, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Ultima Online | 6 Comments

MMO Future: Understanding old memories

Posted on October 31, 2013 by SynCaine

Almost all of the original MMOs worked. UO, EQ1, AC1, DAoC; all of those games had solid populations and growth in their prime. In contrast, most of the recent MMOs (AoC, WAR, LotR, SW:TOR, Aion, Rift, etc) have not. Either … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 52 Comments

Themepark goes F2P, take infinity

Posted on May 15, 2013 by SynCaine

Some quick thoughts on the Rift F2P thing, since a few people have asked. First, it’s not surprising. Scott Hartsman leaving Trion was basically the “Rift is going F2P” announcement. Second, not surprising given what Rift is. It’s an above-average … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, RMT, World of Warcraft | 24 Comments

Camelot Unchained: Concerns based on MJ’s history

Posted on April 9, 2013 by SynCaine

As previously mentioned, the Camelot Unchained kickstarter is up and running, but as of now I’ve not contributed due to a few concerns that I want to cover today. First and foremost, the total removal of PvE raises some doubts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Camelot Unchained, Dark Age of Camelot, MMO design, PvP, Rant, RvR | 41 Comments

Camelot Unchained has a release date!

Posted on February 5, 2013 by SynCaine

More on this tomorrow or the next day, but just a quick comment: we are making hype videos with a date for launching games on kickstarter now? Bit… odd, right? And do they expect to get all 10m from kickstarter? … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, Warhammer Online | 12 Comments

Splitting the genre in two

Posted on September 27, 2012 by SynCaine

Let’s move past why GW2 sucks and onto a bigger topic; why so many recent MMOs suck, shall we? Chris thinks all MMOs are good for 3 months or less, and that’s just how things are today. Keen has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, SW:TOR, The Elder Scrolls Online, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 46 Comments