Category Archives: World of Warcraft

From UO to WoW: A look into the who and why

Posted on November 8, 2010 by SynCaine

Thursday Ob asked whether someone who enjoyed 1997 Ultima Online could enjoy 2010 WoW, which is a great question on many levels. First, it’s worthwhile to talk about the core differences between the two games in terms of enjoyment (obviously … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 32 Comments

Technology from the future

Posted on November 1, 2010 by SynCaine

Food for thought: The company making 500m in profit a year can’t figure out how to get a couple hundred people fighting in one area (it’s technically impossible, yo), while a ‘niche’ game just had a little issue with 3100 … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Rant, World of Warcraft | 38 Comments

The average WoW player.

Posted on October 27, 2010 by SynCaine

If only my MMO of choice offered cross-server, anon pug groups with voice chat so I could, maybe, just one day, collect ‘epics’ with this guy.

Posted in Random, World of Warcraft | 40 Comments

Earning the crown

Posted on October 26, 2010 by SynCaine

Note: Someone please inform work that I have a blog to write, and hence I can’t be actually working all 8 hours of the day. I mean, come on! And actually, being busy at work feeds right into today’s topic, … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 7 Comments

PvP Hotspots

Posted on October 15, 2010 by SynCaine

If you build it, they will come. With sharp objects. And the intent to murder. That’s how PvP in MMOs works, yet so many attempts to create PvP hotspots fail. Too often the approach is to design something that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

WAR, SW:TOR, and the ‘death’ of the MMO genre

Posted on October 14, 2010 by SynCaine

God, where to start with this debacle? My anger at WAR has actually increased since leaving the game, for a number of reasons. When I left the game I thought it had a good base and was just missing a … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, Mass Media, MMO design, Perma-death, PvP, Rant, SW:TOR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 35 Comments

Tiny patch finally arrives for Darkfall.

Posted on October 6, 2010 by SynCaine

It’s not much, really. I’d much rather pay $45 (or $90!) for a partial world revamp still using 2004-era midrange graphics that took 3ish years to develop, with the hopes that in another 3 (and another $90!), perhaps the rest … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, Patch Notes, World of Warcraft | 18 Comments

The value of the player behind the character

Posted on October 4, 2010 by SynCaine

My writing style at times makes for perfect troll food/bait, generally much to my entertainment. That said, it’s always surprising when non-trolls bite as well, missing the entire point of a post to go after the bait like the trolls … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, League of Legends, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments

Swing and a Miss: Dice or You?

Posted on September 29, 2010 by SynCaine

The somewhat recent re-launch of EGM magazine has, so far, delivered. The new quarterly version contains more interviews and ‘blog-like’ content than just a slew of preview and review sales hype (though it still has some of that as well), … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, DDO, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Fallout 3, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 24 Comments

Removing player skill crits you for 1.034%

Posted on September 28, 2010 by SynCaine

Put this one under “accessible” benefits please. WoW dev Ghostcrawler is wondering why the meta game in WoW includes (or excludes, depending on who you ask) a large section of the player base, and more or less defines the culture … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, League of Legends, MMO design, Rant, World of Warcraft | 56 Comments