Category Archives: MMO design

When the DarkFall devs put some bite behind their bark

Posted on April 9, 2009 by SynCaine

Even before launch, Aventurine made it very clear they have a zero tolerance policy concerning issues with cheating or exploiting. Most took this as the usual ‘zero tolerance’ statements made by MMO devs since 1997 and UO, but we are … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design | 7 Comments

The path to the mass market.

Posted on April 2, 2009 by SynCaine

It would seem that the only way to attract a mass-market audience is to go casual. A rather simple concept right? WoW is huge because it aims at casual MMO fans (whoever that is), the Wii is dominating because it … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, World of Warcraft | 22 Comments

DarkFall PvE screenshots

Posted on March 29, 2009 by SynCaine

While DarkFall is a PvP game first and foremost, even our very PvP-focused guild is not out ganking 24/7.  A few of our members were exploring recently, and found a new dungeon we had not seen before. Gathering a group … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design | 10 Comments

Guess what this post is about? (hint: tourists)

Posted on March 27, 2009 by SynCaine

A day after unsuccessfully going with “Without WoW WAR would not have sold 300,000 copies” and claiming that WoW tourists are actually good for the industry, Tobold today decides to go the “WoW is just that much better” route to … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 62 Comments

Solo vs Group MMO design

Posted on March 20, 2009 by SynCaine

If you’ve been keeping up with DarkFall impressions you might have noticed a trend. Solo players hate it; people in active guilds love it. If you are thinking of this breakdown in terms of a MMORPG, it’s not all that … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 13 Comments

Some DarkFall issues

Posted on March 19, 2009 by SynCaine

DarkFall has been a very pleasant surprise so far, as I really was not expecting so many things to actually work right out of the gate, and the game to overall be so solid and fun. I was not expecting … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, Patch Notes | 19 Comments

If WoW tourists ran DarkFall

Posted on March 18, 2009 by SynCaine

I came across something rather terrifying. I saw what the world would be like if WoW tourists had full control of DarkFall. Allow me to explain. Thanks to a comment on Keen’s site, I found Ixobelle’s blog with three posts … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, Rant, World of Warcraft | 60 Comments

The best PK death ever, thanks DarkFall.

Posted on March 16, 2009 by SynCaine

I’m not really going to talk about the tech issues DarkFall is having, as it’s rather simple. Too many people online, the game never kicks people, lag is bad, queue queue, and all that. It’s an MMO, and in exchange … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP | 18 Comments

WAR State of the Game: more solid progress being made

Posted on March 11, 2009 by SynCaine

Mark Jacob’s “State of the Game” is up at the herald. It’s a good read, and I think contains a lot of new information for players who don’t follow every forum post made about WAR. It’s very clear that while … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Patch Notes, RvR, Warhammer Online | 9 Comments

More thoughts on Zone Domination in WAR

Posted on March 9, 2009 by SynCaine

Now that everyone has had some time with the 1.2 patch in WAR, I want to talk a bit more about the Zone Domination (ZD) system and how it’s currently affecting tier 4 RvR. The difficult part of this is … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Patch Notes, RvR, Warhammer Online | 4 Comments