Category Archives: MMO design

Removing player skill crits you for 1.034%

Posted on September 28, 2010 by SynCaine

Put this one under “accessible” benefits please. WoW dev Ghostcrawler is wondering why the meta game in WoW includes (or excludes, depending on who you ask) a large section of the player base, and more or less defines the culture … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, League of Legends, MMO design, Rant, World of Warcraft | 56 Comments

Battle over the crown to the fail kingdom!

Posted on September 20, 2010 by SynCaine

Colossal wall of fail text crits you for over 9000. Man where to start. First and foremost, one would think someone would try to distance themselves from a pile of utter fail instead of trying to take credit for every … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Random, Rant, World of Warcraft | 9 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

I have a great pre-order offer for you!

Posted on September 10, 2010 by SynCaine

Tell me if you’ve heard this before: Subscription MMO hypes pre-orders with exclusive content, early access, special bonuses, rainbow sherbet, etc. Beta is still under NDA and although all of the hype and writing still talks about 100s of features, … Continue reading →

Posted in DDO, EQ2, FreeRealms, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Warhammer Online | 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

Two years of WAR = …

Posted on September 7, 2010 by SynCaine

1) Has any game in MMO history redesigned more core systems then WAR? Amazing to think what could have been added these last two years if Mythic could stop ‘fixing’ things every patch. 2) Adding a third, PLAYABLE faction would … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, RvR, Warhammer Online | 10 Comments

Choosing not to have fun

Posted on September 3, 2010 by SynCaine

The world has officially gone mad, as on a Friday, typically the day for a good blog war, I’m just linking to Tobold to comment on a post (and also because his post above, about blog roll drama, is hilarious). … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 12 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

FFXIV XP Cap: Rehab for MMO players?

Posted on August 27, 2010 by SynCaine

I’m starting to get a little worried here. First Tobold starts playing (and enjoying) a hardcore niche MMO, then he agrees that used game buyers are thieving parasites (not his words), and now we find ourselves again on the same … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, MMO design, Random | 9 Comments