Category Archives: MMO design

The cult of MMO; Why it’s good to be a fanboi.

Posted on March 3, 2011 by SynCaine

MMO success has been the topic of a few blogs, mostly inspired by Rift’s successful launch and predictions of what will happen next. Will it WAR or will it WoW? Readers here will know I’m leaning more toward WoW than … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 4 Comments

Insider story of Darkfall’s development

Posted on March 3, 2011 by SynCaine

Pretty interesting read. While I’m at another lull in my activity with Darkfall, it’s still the MMO I keep my eye on more than anything else, I still log in once a week or so to catch up on activity, … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Darkfall Online, MMO design | 4 Comments

Rift Launch + Realm of the Fae

Posted on March 1, 2011 by SynCaine

To echo what TAGN said today (and to cross-link for maximum blog traffic whoring), Rift does officially launch today, even though it might as well have launched last week. It would also be sadly humorous if Trion overestimates the demand … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, MMO design, Rift | 9 Comments

Rift: MMO 3.0

Posted on February 28, 2011 by SynCaine

Let’s call UO/EQ/AC the first generation of MMOs (sorry MUDs), where both the devs and the players were total noobs, and the ‘hey this is new’ factor was off the charts. If you dialed in during the late 90s, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EQ2, MMO design, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments

Not all themeparks are created equally

Posted on February 24, 2011 by SynCaine

Going to comment on something Tobold wrote today, related to Rift launching and how themeparks are similar. Here is the piece I want to focus on: But I do know that Rift is not completely unlike World of Warcraft. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, beta, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, Rift, World of Warcraft | 8 Comments

Today’s Rift Hype: The carebears will stare but won’t care

Posted on February 11, 2011 by SynCaine

Basically this. Finally, carebears will play by carebear rules on their PvE servers, and the sociopaths who do nothing but grief noobs will play by their rules on the PvP servers. How hard was this to do? How hard is … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, PvP, Rift, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments

Accepting beta feedback: I don’t even…

Posted on February 10, 2011 by SynCaine

From Ravious at KTR: Trion Worlds said that the game is on such a stable base that the devs are actually able to work on requested game improvements that are received through beta feedback rather than trying to plow through … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Rift | 13 Comments

Rift: Breaking things down a bit

Posted on February 7, 2011 by SynCaine

On Friday a good question was raised regarding Rift: what does WoW 2004 mean, and why does Rift have it over themepark MMO X? Part of this is, of course, highly subjective. What I feel is a plus for Rift … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Rift, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Rift Beta 6: That old WoW feeling

Posted on February 4, 2011 by SynCaine

Rift beta 6 starts this weekend, and I’m actually looking forward to it even more than beta 5 (in part because I’ve learned they don’t wipe character, so Aria and I will actually get to see the 15+ish game, including … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, EQ2, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, Rift, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments

With or against, it’s still more than a queue

Posted on February 2, 2011 by SynCaine

Tobold, after all these years of blogging, has finally figured out that it’s more fun to troll WoW fans than it is to provide for them. Welcome to the club. My trolling aside, there is one thing I would like … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, Rant, World of Warcraft | 18 Comments