Category Archives: Darkfall Online

DarkFall: Two Year Anniversary video

Posted on May 19, 2011 by SynCaine

Some very nice footage from AV’s Tascha. Must be fun to zoom around in GM mode, able to watch random players or oversee huge battles :)

Posted in Darkfall Online | 1 Comment

EverQuest: The first themepark

Posted on May 16, 2011 by SynCaine

I will say this upfront so we are all on the same page, the definition of a sandbox/themepark is more opinion than science. It’s more general approach than X+Y=Z. Its shades of gray, and themeparks can have sandbox features, just … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online | 15 Comments

DarkFall: New video

Posted on May 13, 2011 by SynCaine

The good: This video looks great in terms of atmosphere and immersion. The bad: If the new sound and lighting can be turned off. Don’t blow it Aventurine.

Posted in Darkfall Online | 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

Little Billy and his trophy

Posted on May 5, 2011 by SynCaine

I’m not a fan of the “everyone is a winner” approach, be it Little League Baseball or MMOs. Handing out a trophy just for showing up is, to me, silly at best. I don’t care that little Billy is 6 … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, Rant, Rift, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments

The real reason for the tank shortage

Posted on April 25, 2011 by SynCaine

Let me start off by saying I enjoy playing the tank more than any other role in a themepark. I enjoy the challenge, I find the gameplay more entertaining, and well, I’m not a droolcup so playing DPS would be … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, Rant, Rift | 14 Comments

Expansion vs Replacement content

Posted on April 21, 2011 by SynCaine

Prompted by the reminder that I massively ragequit Darkfall (account status: active), and reading this post on the Aventurine blog, reminded me of yet another reason why sandbox > themepark: over time a sandbox should get more/better content, while over … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, Rift | 24 Comments

Burnouts Anonymous

Posted on April 11, 2011 by SynCaine

Quick break from the PvE Sandbox series to make an observation about Rift, but no worries (you were worried, I could tell), another post in that series is coming soon. Over a month in and I’m still having a ton … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 27 Comments

Shades of blue

Posted on April 5, 2011 by SynCaine

Back then I was on the ‘red’ side, now I’m firmly on the ‘blue’ side. Guess the player along with the game evolves. Wise words from a wise man, minus the grammar fail on the original. The first part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Rift, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 13 Comments

The PvE Sandbox

Posted on March 29, 2011 by SynCaine

Whenever a Darkfall update is features on Massively, odds are good someone is going to comment on how they would love to play in such a world, just without the FFA PvP. Now it should be pretty obvious to anyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, Random | 9 Comments