Category Archives: MMO design

Unite casuals with the hardcore, don’t separate them.

Posted on March 28, 2008 by SynCaine

Listening to the latest Drone Bay podcast, a thought came to me while listening to the ‘mail time’ section. A new player basically asked what he can do about older players having tons of money, and an inflated economy making … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

Daily quests, daily grind.

Posted on March 27, 2008 by SynCaine

Now that 2.4 is out, many bloggers are posting their initial reactions to the patch, with most being overall positive. It seems the new area is a hit, and the players are enjoying the new daily quests that contribute to … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, World of Warcraft | 15 Comments

Offspring or Evolution?

Posted on March 25, 2008 by SynCaine

Cuppy recently talked about what she is looking for in an MMO, in particular referencing the upcoming FreeRealms (of which I will admit I know basically nothing about). It struck me that based on her list we have an almost … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random | 2 Comments

On rails pacing in WoW, a solution or a problem?

Posted on March 24, 2008 by SynCaine

Over the long weekend I had my first chance to see the Cavern of Time area, and also run Durnholde Keep, the first of three instances available. Overall the Cavern of Time area is a nice, albeit strange change of … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, World of Warcraft | 3 Comments

It’s everyones favorite topic.

Posted on March 20, 2008 by SynCaine

RMT talk time! Tobold has a post up today about the subject, quoting a well written article from Zen of Design by Damion. I’ve made a few comments on Tobold’s blog, but felt the need to get into more detail … Continue reading →

Posted in EQ2, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 12 Comments

Focused goodness or cheap clones?

Posted on March 18, 2008 by SynCaine

I forget who made this comment, but some developer stated he would rather make four 10 million dollar budget MMOs than make one $40 million dollar budget MMO. My first reaction to that comment was somewhat negative, as I imagined … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 5 Comments

To the time machine, we need to correct a grave mistake!

Posted on March 14, 2008 by SynCaine

A good topic making the rounds in our blog community asks the question ‘what MMO would you unmake?’ The point being what game do you feel the MMO space would be better off without? Too many blogs to link here … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, DDO, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 4 Comments

Stuck in easy mode.

Posted on March 13, 2008 by SynCaine

As I explore more content in TBC (Hellfire complete, working on Zangermarsh now) a new issue has arisen, or rather I’ve noticed an issue that has likely been going on since just after launch. The better and smarter you play … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, World of Warcraft | 13 Comments

Don’t blame the Deathknight, blame the creator.

Posted on March 10, 2008 by SynCaine

Now that RMT promoter Tobold has returned (kidding), he linked some good blog posts about the upcoming Deathknight class, and what could possibly be done to implement them correctly without pissing off other classes, particularly warriors. All good reads, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 4 Comments

Fixing Alterac Valley.

Posted on March 5, 2008 by SynCaine

This will be the last post about AV for now, I promise. All previous commentary was based on the 51-60 bracket, and having finally hit 61+, I’ve experienced 61-70 AV. As bad as the 60 bracket was, the 70 bracket … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 4 Comments