No need for level cap increases
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Does raising the level cap of an MMO add value to the game? That appears to be a simple question and I’ve heard a lot of players and developers say yes. I’ve even had some tell me that you have to do this. I contend that no, you do not. Raising the level cap is merely a throw back to a time gone by and is largely vestigial these days. (more…)
RFC – MMO Loot
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
While I sit here in great pain waiting on UPS to deliever my copy of Sentinel’s Fate I have time to work on some guild leadership stuff. I’ve got a pretty big project I’m working on and occasionally it helps me get on track when I hear others opinions. I posed a series of questions to my guild mates today but then realized that their answers will partly be tainted. They know me as a guild leader and would probably assume a certain level of trust. That is where you guys come in! (more…)
MMO PC Selection Part 1
Monday, January 4th, 2010
It isn’t that often that I stray off of my main topics and into gray areas that only semi-relate. This is one of those occasions so if you’re here to learn about guild management or MMO design, you can probably just skip this article. If you’re interested in building your own gaming PC for your MMO of choice, however, you just might find the little bit of knowledge I have helpful. I’ve been building my own machines for years now and I do a lot of research in the area. I always try to balance price with performance and, even though there are a million better articles about this out there, the MMO audience might not be reading them. Today’s class is a brief, dirty and fast paced look into the subject of PC building. (more…)
EQ2’s Palace of Ferzhul
Friday, January 1st, 2010
My Iniquity brethren and I have been spending our time working through the Palace of Ferzhul in Everquest II. It is arguably one of the hardest instances in the Shadow Odyssey expansion and seemed like a great example of design to discuss. We’ve had a lot of success there and this is one of those zones that really makes you question if it is possible to have a one group raid. The level of difficulty and complexity in the encounters really seems to lend that idea some credibility so it is best that we look at some of the encounters individually. (more…)
Across the MMOverse
Friday, December 4th, 2009
It may surprise some players to know that many years ago there were no mounts in MMOs. You could not whip out your trusty steed and go plowing across the world at breakneck speeds. You simply had to run it. Frequently, you’d find a class that could give you a speed buff to shorten the trip but the key there is that you were always on your feet. When EverQuest finally received mounts, it was an amazing feature that changed MMOs forever. Lately, however, I have been curious as to if this change was for the better? Did we really get more value out of our titles by switching from running to riding? (more…)
Imagine MMOs with little coin
Monday, November 30th, 2009
Imagine an MMO where coin isn’t an abundant commodity. It is easy if you try. Monsters would not drop it as loot and would instead only reward players with appropriate items. Animals would drop pelts while orcs might carry an axe or club. Every item would have some function. Weapons and armor can be used while other items would be trade skill components. Other items might be for bounties or quests. No loot should exist just to be sold for coin. That would only be a secondary function.
Imagine if you had to barter once again like players did in EverQuest 1. It isn’t that hard to do. Coin would exist but (more…)
