Category Archives: MMO design

Creeping death: A return to WoW or WAR?

Posted on April 14, 2010 by SynCaine

At some point later this year I’m either going to return to Warhammer Online or World of Warcraft, mainly because I’d like to casually play an MMO with my fiancé again, and also to prevent any kind of burnout I … Continue reading →

Posted in Allods Online, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, RvR, Site update, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 37 Comments

Playing to not have fun

Posted on April 13, 2010 by SynCaine

Hey look, someone finally tried an MMO near-everyone has been telling him to try. Of course, going into an MMO with the “I won’t be here long” mentality is like going into a restaurant right after you just ate a … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, Rant, World of Warcraft | 40 Comments

The MMO hype-release cycle getting worse?

Posted on April 9, 2010 by SynCaine

Is it just me, or is the hype-release cycle in the MMO world getting crazier and less professional as time goes on? It just seems like not only are projects being announced as soon as someone comes up with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Allods Online, beta, Darkfall Online, Mass Media, MMO design, Random, Rant | 20 Comments

PvP Hotspots

Posted on April 8, 2010 by SynCaine

The term “PvP Hotspot” is used often when describing some of the additions Aventurine has made to DarkFall since the games launch, and all too often I’m seeing players misinterpret what the design intent is behind these additions, and just … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, Housing, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 7 Comments

DarkFall: The shift to group PvE and it’s PvP impact

Posted on April 5, 2010 by SynCaine

Now that I’ve had a little bit of time with the new patch in DarkFall, I can safely say the PvE changes are a definite step in the right direction for the game. It ultimately comes down to group PvE … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, PvP | 12 Comments

DarkFall Patch: Group PvE now a real option?

Posted on April 2, 2010 by SynCaine

Ah DarkFall patch day, where the servers go down for longer than expected (can it really be unexpected when it happens every… single… time…?), the average ForumFall post is even more whiney, and while no one really knows how the … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, Darkfall Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, PvP | 11 Comments

More tools coming to the sandbox

Posted on March 31, 2010 by SynCaine

DarkFall is set to receive a patch later this week, and two recent spotlights have shown off two new items that will be included; Clan Teleportation Chambers and Deployable Strongboxes. Both threads are already very lengthy with everyone throwing opinions … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Darkfall Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, World of Warcraft | 12 Comments

But the dice keep the economy rolling

Posted on March 30, 2010 by SynCaine

Yesterday I talked about randomness and luck as it relates to DarkFall’s combat, and how I believe the game benefits from having such events kept to a minimum. Today I want to address the other side of the coin; the … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, Darkfall Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

No dice rolls here

Posted on March 29, 2010 by SynCaine

I’ve recently been playing some Catan online, which is acting as a solid game to play while my character in DF is doing less input-heavy tasks (gathering, crafting, etc), and it reminded me how much certain games factor in luck … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, Random | 15 Comments

PvP Systems: FFA vs Faction

Posted on March 26, 2010 by SynCaine

Coppertopper previously asked my opinion on FFA PvP versus set faction PvP, and today seems like a good day to throw out my opinions on the topic and also see what everyone else thinks. Examples of FFA PvP include Ultima … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, Asheron's Call, Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 11 Comments