Category Archives: Ultima Online

Life Evolution in the sandbox

Posted on November 24, 2009 by SynCaine

Pacing and gameplay evolution are very important and at times overlooked factors in any MMO. The actions and motivations of a day one player are very different than those of a two year veteran, and good game design takes that … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Combat Systems, crafting, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, PvP, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 20 Comments

DarkFall Community Publisher update

Posted on November 23, 2009 by SynCaine

With the DarkFall Community Publisher initiative a week old, here are some initial thoughts: The link itself gets clicked quite often here, more so (on average) than any other link. Whether this is due to placement, the link being an … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Darkfall Online, Mass Media, MMO design, Patch Notes, Site update, Ultima Online | 9 Comments

It’s now officially an expansion.

Posted on November 10, 2009 by SynCaine

Each Spotlight post on the DarkFall forums about the upcoming expansion (it’s now officially an expansion in my mind, given the bat-shit crazy amount of stuff included. I know MMO games with shorter feature lists than what has been mentioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, Darkfall Online, Housing, MMO design, Patch Notes, Ultima Online | 4 Comments

What the MMORPG genre could (and should) be.

Posted on October 19, 2009 by SynCaine

Last Friday’s post, and the links in the comments to Raph Koster’s posts (here, here, and here) (Thanks Brian) about the old Ultima Online eco system have sparked some old memories of what got me interested in the MMORPG genre … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, crafting, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Housing, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 64 Comments

What buying Aion says about you

Posted on October 16, 2009 by SynCaine

The MMO genre has many unique aspects that separate it from other gaming genres, with perhaps the ability of fans to shape future content being among the greatest. Everyone has at least some idea of their perfect game, and while … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, beta, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 51 Comments

MMO fluff: What is it?

Posted on October 13, 2009 by SynCaine

One of the more common complaints about DarkFall from the players actually playing the game is the lack of ‘fluff’ content, and the upcoming expansion may seek to address this. One question I have is what exactly is fluff in … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Housing, MMO design, Patch Notes, PvP, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 22 Comments

What’s that monthly fee really buying you?

Posted on October 9, 2009 by SynCaine

Two different yet related items have sparked this post about why we pay a monthly fee; the upcoming release of Cities XL and Tobold’s re-review of WoW. Cities XL because some are questioning why they would need to pay monthly … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Civilization Series, Console Gaming, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 36 Comments

Niche and Mass Market: One big happy MMO genre

Posted on October 6, 2009 by SynCaine

We are at an interesting point in history with MMOs, highlighted beautifully with the recent re-release of the Asian answer to WoW in Aion and the uber-niche Fallen Earth. One is benefiting from a year of full release under its … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Rant, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

The WoW hate: Why 2009 is not 2005.

Posted on September 15, 2009 by SynCaine

Taken from a comment on TAGN, #16: @Syn: So was WoW the debbil when you were spending all waking hours of your life raiding MC (ca. 2005-06) or are these merely the rantings of the repentant sinner who has since … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, DDO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 51 Comments

Level one, and god-mode already?

Posted on September 11, 2009 by SynCaine

Why do we assume the first mob we fight in an MMO should be an easy kill? I’m serious, how many MMOs can you name where the first mob you face has a legitimate chance to kill you? I mentioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Console Gaming, Darkfall Online, EQ2, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 35 Comments