Category Archives: MMO design

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

DF:UW – The value of owning a city

Posted on May 13, 2013 by SynCaine

A popular topic on ForumFall of late has been the value of player cities and hamlets, with some believe they are not worth owning, or that the cost to build them up is too great and needs to be reduced. … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Darkfall Online, Housing, MMO design, Old Timers Guild, PvP | 1 Comment

DF:UW – Distilled core

Posted on May 7, 2013 by SynCaine

In the MMO gaming scale, time is far more valuable to me than money. $60 for a box or $15 a month is a trivial amount compared to the amount of time I spend gaming, so free crap is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design | 21 Comments

Ghost audience

Posted on May 6, 2013 by SynCaine

When I wrote my PvE sandbox series of posts, I wrote them thinking that the audience would be similar to those that play PvP sandbox MMOs, but instead of competing directly against each other, those players would be more focused … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Rant, RMT | 44 Comments

Darkfall: Unholy Wars – Peaks on top of peaks on top of peaks

Posted on April 29, 2013 by SynCaine

Readers here know that I like MMOs (hence, you know, this here MMO blog). And unless this is the first post you are reading here (hi), you know I prefer my MMOs to be more sandbox/virtual world than themepark, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, Old Timers Guild, PvP | 17 Comments

DF:UW – Review after two weeks

Posted on April 26, 2013 by SynCaine

(Note: I write this sitting on my just-crafted boat, fishing away far off the Agon coast. Let’s see what I end up with at the end.) MMO sequels are tricky. When you create a sequel, you generally do so because … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP | 13 Comments

DF:UW – The pace of progression

Posted on April 24, 2013 by SynCaine

The early ‘controversy’ in DF:UW right now is progression. Specifically, some are very upset that those with more time and more efficient farming methods are ahead of them in prowess. Yes, people with more time and skill get more done … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design | 13 Comments

DF:UW – Nighthags

Posted on April 18, 2013 by SynCaine

Near our chaos stone there is a mob spawn that changes depending on the day/night cycle. During the day, the mobs are easier, while at night there is a chance a far more powerful version of the mob will spawn. … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design | 3 Comments

Darkfall: Unholy Wars – End of beta and the plan going forward

Posted on April 15, 2013 by SynCaine

Originally I was going to chronicle the DF:UW beta from day one to close, but a lot of what I had down no longer applies, and after re-reading it, it was honestly not that interesting. Instead, I’ll just type up … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, PvP | 15 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