Category Archives: Ultima Online

The fear of impact in the MMO genre.

Posted on September 4, 2009 by SynCaine

The MMO genre is a funny place. On the one hand, it promises to let you play with thousands of other players and share adventures together, while on the other it sets you up to be a hero doing some … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments

Repeating the same mistake: Why EVE’s skill system is the way to go

Posted on August 12, 2009 by SynCaine

If you have a skill based (as opposed to XP/level based) character development system, is there any reason NOT to use EVE’s real-time progression? How many of DarkFall’s “it’s a huge grind” problems would be resolved if you gained skills … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online | 61 Comments

When the combat system in 1997 was better than what we have today, you know we have a problem.

Posted on August 5, 2009 by SynCaine

Now that his resurrection is complete, Tobold has started a multi-part series of posts talking about why we play MMOs, with today’s topic being gameplay. In most MMOs today, gameplay generally means combat, and so the type of combat system … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 19 Comments

Why a hip-hop based MMO is genius

Posted on July 31, 2009 by SynCaine

At first glance one might dismiss this gem of an idea and logically conclude that the overlap between hip-hop fans and MMO players is rather slim. You might also be thinking “wtf does rap music have to do with grinding … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Why is the B-team messing with your AAA product?

Posted on July 15, 2009 by SynCaine

I’m a bit late on this one, but Eric from ElderGame has a long and detailed breakdown of why WoW is currently being run by the B-team, adding his own experience as a former dev on AC2. It’s a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 28 Comments

Bring back the gimps!

Posted on July 7, 2009 by SynCaine

At some point during the transition from MMORPG to just MMO, the ability to create a ‘gimped’ character was removed. In UO you could hit the skill cap and have a horrible character. In AC you could spend all your … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, DDO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 30 Comments

Why your MMO is dying, and EVE is still growing

Posted on June 11, 2009 by SynCaine

EVE Online has a mile-long list of unique features that set it apart from all other MMOs, including being the only MMO with a constant and ever-increasing player base. WoW grew faster and bigger than any MMO before or after … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 34 Comments

Subscription vs RMT: Who will save the poor noobs with no time to play?

Posted on June 10, 2009 by SynCaine

It seems it’s been too long since everyone’s second favorite topic (hardcore vs casual being #1), RMT, has been discussed. Tobold has two posts about it and recently DDO went F2P. As readers here know, I’m not a huge fan … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, Darkfall Online, DDO, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 14 Comments

WAR: The casual PvP MMO

Posted on June 4, 2009 by SynCaine

Playing WAR again after having played DarkFall is changing my mind about what WAR might be all about. Pre-release, WAR was being positioned as a great RvR game with a lot of great ideas. (ToK, PQs, Scenarios) While I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 23 Comments

DarkFall: Giving the skill system some direction

Posted on May 7, 2009 by SynCaine

The skill system in DarkFall is one of the more hotly debated topics among players actually playing the game (and not just playing ForumFall). Some believe it’s too long a grind (oh nooz, you are not maxed out in two … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design, Ultima Online | 9 Comments