Category Archives: EVE Online

WildStar – I can’t say it sucks, yet

Posted on August 20, 2013 by SynCaine

TAGN beat me to posting about the WildStar PLEX plan. /agree It works in EVE because EVE has a balanced economy. WildStar being a themepark, it won’t (feel free to bookmark this and come back 6 months into release and … Continue reading →

Posted in EQNext, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant, SW:TOR | 8 Comments

EQN – Player freedom is too scary for most

Posted on August 12, 2013 by SynCaine

The most interesting topic around right now is how a living ecosystem or smart AI could actually work in an MMO. Now, before you go ahead and comment “but SynCaine, you already told us how it would work in 2011”, … Continue reading →

Posted in EQNext, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design | 15 Comments

The blogs reflect the genre

Posted on July 10, 2013 by SynCaine

This post about blogging over at TAGN, along with the comments, is worth reading, even if you are only vaguely interested in the topic of MMO blogs. As the posts-per-day rate here has slowed over the last two months, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogroll, Camelot Unchained, Darkfall Online, DDO, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Kickstarter, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 19 Comments

The difference between good and great games

Posted on June 17, 2013 by SynCaine

If there is one thing real MMO fans struggle with it’s the acceptance of ‘grind’ to justify progression or rewards. This is often expressed as “remove all the crap and just let us do the fun stuff”, and in that … Continue reading →

Posted in Eador, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design | 10 Comments

Honesty

Posted on June 7, 2013 by SynCaine

GamesIndustry International recently spoke to David Reid, CCP’s chief marketing officer about both EVE and Dust 514. “The thing about Dust is not the shiniest guns or the perfect shooting mechanics; it’s about this meta-game, and the persistence, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Console Gaming, EVE Online, Mass Media, Rant | 10 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

Blizzard: “Didn’t want those subs anyway”

Posted on May 9, 2013 by SynCaine

Oh look, the D3 scam subs are officially off the books, and Blizzard doesn’t have another game or bundle coming out to bundle players into a WoW sub. And I was so sure MoP would totally save WoW too… Of … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Mass Media, RMT, World of Warcraft | 43 Comments

One additional 2013 prediction

Posted on February 28, 2013 by SynCaine

EVE will shut down in 2013 and CCP will go bankrupt. Moral lock everyone! Mark it down! (Unless they get more government funding and just shut the server down to make money. That could totally work as well. Wikipedia entries … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online | 11 Comments

The good stuffs in the middle

Posted on February 27, 2013 by SynCaine

Let’s talk a little about the history of the mid-game in the MMO genre. IMO the mid-game is the time after you have learned the basics of the game (tutorial or beginning phase), and before you stop progressing or have … Continue reading →

Posted in EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 12 Comments

Be un-massive for a reason

Posted on February 15, 2013 by SynCaine

One of my least favorite parts of blogging is presenting a topic and having people directly apply it to the now. The best example of this is talking about item loss, and having WoW players say it would never work … Continue reading →

Posted in DDO, EVE Online, MMO design, Random, Rant, SW:TOR | 21 Comments