Category Archives: EVE Online

Thou shall play Darkfall!

Posted on November 4, 2010 by SynCaine

Jef Reahard is asking Massively readers what MMO he should play next, and, well, the results are rather surprising. While no doubt ForumFall being notified is influencing the numbers, the sheer size of Darkfall’s current lead says something. The comments … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Mass Media | 15 Comments

Technology from the future

Posted on November 1, 2010 by SynCaine

Food for thought: The company making 500m in profit a year can’t figure out how to get a couple hundred people fighting in one area (it’s technically impossible, yo), while a ‘niche’ game just had a little issue with 3100 … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Rant, World of Warcraft | 38 Comments

Earning the crown

Posted on October 26, 2010 by SynCaine

Note: Someone please inform work that I have a blog to write, and hence I can’t be actually working all 8 hours of the day. I mean, come on! And actually, being busy at work feeds right into today’s topic, … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 7 Comments

PvP Hotspots

Posted on October 15, 2010 by SynCaine

If you build it, they will come. With sharp objects. And the intent to murder. That’s how PvP in MMOs works, yet so many attempts to create PvP hotspots fail. Too often the approach is to design something that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

The value of the player behind the character

Posted on October 4, 2010 by SynCaine

My writing style at times makes for perfect troll food/bait, generally much to my entertainment. That said, it’s always surprising when non-trolls bite as well, missing the entire point of a post to go after the bait like the trolls … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, League of Legends, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments

Swing and a Miss: Dice or You?

Posted on September 29, 2010 by SynCaine

The somewhat recent re-launch of EGM magazine has, so far, delivered. The new quarterly version contains more interviews and ‘blog-like’ content than just a slew of preview and review sales hype (though it still has some of that as well), … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, DDO, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Fallout 3, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 24 Comments

Economic Ignorance

Posted on September 14, 2010 by SynCaine

MMO economies are, in my opinion, one of if not THE most overlooked and ignored features in the genre. At the same time a strong economy is perhaps the single greatest driver of ‘content’, and not just for those who … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, EVE Online, MMO design, Rant | 10 Comments

Freedom or Profit

Posted on September 8, 2010 by SynCaine

Trusting your players is a risky move in an MMO. Accepting risky moves is often counterproductive to turning a profit, which is why the ‘safe’ choice when designing an MMO is to remove that potential risk and limit or eliminate … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online | 7 Comments

Previous fail breakdown was the real fail

Posted on August 31, 2010 by SynCaine

My post from yesterday was not as clear as I had hoped (that’s what happens when you rush posts at the end of the day I guess), so here we go for round two. What I wanted to express yesterday … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 3 Comments

Breaking down failure is fail

Posted on August 30, 2010 by SynCaine

It’s funny how we (myself firmly included in this) react when an MMO fails. We always ask why, and break down what went wrong based on that specific title, focusing on key bullet points (haha, good one self). APB is … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, Random, Ultima Online, Vanguard, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments