Category Archives: EVE Online

Localized banking: Feature or hassle?

Posted on October 2, 2009 by SynCaine

Localized banking is something DarkFall originally had on its list of features, but at some point this was changed and now banking is global. On a recent preview of the October patch, the idea of localized banking was mentioned, and … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Housing, MMO design, Patch Notes, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 33 Comments

Your MMO won’t have a million subs, sorry Blizzard.

Posted on September 30, 2009 by SynCaine

Tobold and I have a friendly little challenge going (around comment 45 on that post), one that sadly won’t have a result for a few years. The challenge is simple: The next Blizzard MMO won’t reach the popularity of WoW. … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Site update, SW:TOR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 57 Comments

Launch Day: How to deal with day one in the post-WoW MMO space

Posted on September 22, 2009 by SynCaine

From an outsider’s perspective looking in, Aion’s launch seems to be having the same issue Warhammer Online had a year ago; dealing with the huge initial rush of players and tourists flooding the servers on day one. In the post-WoW … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, beta, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, SW:TOR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Impact PvP: Are you part of the niche?

Posted on September 21, 2009 by SynCaine

Due to the length of both Tobold’s post about impact PvP and my reply, I’ll just quote him below and write my response here. Doesn’t “meaningful PvP” automatically mean a form of PvP where you really hurt other players’ progress … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 55 Comments

The fear of impact in the MMO genre.

Posted on September 4, 2009 by SynCaine

The MMO genre is a funny place. On the one hand, it promises to let you play with thousands of other players and share adventures together, while on the other it sets you up to be a hero doing some … Continue reading →

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

Idea for binding another game to an MMO

Posted on September 2, 2009 by SynCaine

With CCP announcing Dusk 514, a shooter-based MMO that will interact with EVE Online, Tobold ask’s what other MMOs would work well with a secondary product attached to them. My initial thought was to have player-controlled mobs facing off against … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, DDO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Random, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Warhammer Online: After almost a year, does Mythic finally get it?

Posted on August 18, 2009 by SynCaine

I’ll fully admit I might be too close to this to see it clearly, but with that said, I’ve noticed a pattern in Mythic’s approach to patching Warhammer Online, one that might be applicable to other MMOs as well. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Dark Age of Camelot, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Mass Media, MMO design, Patch Notes, RvR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

Repeating the same mistake: Why EVE’s skill system is the way to go

Posted on August 12, 2009 by SynCaine

If you have a skill based (as opposed to XP/level based) character development system, is there any reason NOT to use EVE’s real-time progression? How many of DarkFall’s “it’s a huge grind” problems would be resolved if you gained skills … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online | 61 Comments

Why is the B-team messing with your AAA product?

Posted on July 15, 2009 by SynCaine

I’m a bit late on this one, but Eric from ElderGame has a long and detailed breakdown of why WoW is currently being run by the B-team, adding his own experience as a former dev on AC2. It’s a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 28 Comments

Dummies like dummy games

Posted on July 13, 2009 by SynCaine

My fiancé currently prefers WAR over DDO because DDO got hard. I prefer DDO over WAR because DDO is an enjoyable challenge rather than the insta-win that is general MMO PvE. I consider myself an MMO gamer; she is the … Continue reading →

Posted in DDO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 57 Comments