All Posts by Stradden

Warhammer Online will employ one of the most interesting class systems in any MMORPG to date when they debut in the Fall. In part one of this two-part series, Jon Wood speaks to Mythic's Adam Gershowitz about the three ideas that formed the backbone of the careers design.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Adam Gershowitz, the Combat and Careers strike team lead over at EA Mythic’s Warhammer Online. During the interview, we talked about the classes in Warhammer (known as Careers) and what went into the overall design process in bringing them to life.

The Warhammer Online careers system has gone through an evolution since the game was announced, moving from an extremely complex system when the game was first announced, to the complex and interesting but ultimately more understandable system that we have today and will see at launch.

Read it all here.

While it doesn't quite meet our requirements for listing, NCsoft's Exteel is certainly an idea that is appealing to MMO gamers. In this developer paper, the game's devs give tips and strategies for The Boomrocker Mechanaught, weapon highlights and the Defrosted Summit Battle Map.

The Boomrocker represents the heaviest of the early-era Mechanaughts, trading speed and mobility for armor and toughness. At this point in the pilot’s progress, these Mechanaughts become more specialized towards their specific tasks and pilots will start to upgrade their own Mechanaught not as a whole set, but part by part, to create the best mix for themselves. The Boomrocker is the first heavy Mechanaught and while currently many see its design as being a little inefficient in compared to modern-era heavy Mechanaughts like the Haskell or Hellbent Butcher, it would serve up-and-coming pilots more inclined for the support role than any other Mechanaught.

Check it out here.

Originally posted by Quethel

Originally posted by TookyG

Originally posted by AlienShirt

While I can agree that some MMORPG features add to the overall gameplay of PnP RPGs, it is said to see the most important part of a PnP RPG-- the actually Role-Playing -- fall to the side just like in MMORPGs today.

Roleplaying doesn't rely on game mechanics!  Roleplaying only falls by the way side when you let it.

 

Exactly TookyG. People seem to be upset that they can't spend skill points on Rope Use and Pottery anymore, as if anyone who ever understood the mechanics would ever waste points on that crap. Seems to be a duplicitous arguement going on here. A bunch of people upset that "WotC is catering to a no imagination no roleplay MMO demographic" by removing a bunch of crap no one used and isn't needed if you have imagination and can roleplay.

It's an If you want to be a tailor or a side show freak or something, tell your DM. I'm sure you guys can figure something out on your own, you shouldn't need books and rules unless you have no imagination.

I disagree with the "as if anyone who ever understood the mechanics would ever waste points on that crap".

I know that I and my own group understood the mechanics quite well. There was something awesome about taking points and putting them into a character building skill. I liked being able to make a conscious decision to not go with an obvious statistical advantage and instead opt for something different.

I would also like to point out that I think you're right about the DM being able to work something out, but as I've said before, it's a lack of support for that particular play style. The same thing has happened in MMOs. I think that it is easy for developers to say that players will use their own imaginations for character building stuff and role-play elements. I think that probably has a lot to do with the reason that we so seldom see MMO mechanics that concentrate on who you are as an individual.

If we want to see a real departure from the guided experince, do the same as everyone esle, be the same as everyone else, but be in a world WITH everyone else, mechanics that would make characters feel more individual would be more than welcome.

Just sayin...

Originally posted by Hexxeity

One thing a lot of people are forgetting as they rush to make snarky criticisms of the new edition -- these are  just the core rulebooks.

These books are meant only as a foundation, the bare basics you need in order to be able to play the game.  If you tried to play D&D using ONLY the core rulebooks of any previous edition, you might be surprised at how shallow the game would feel.

Yes, there's no question that some things have been left out of the 4E core rulebooks that were considered "basic" in previous editions, but I would argue that maybe the previous editions tried to cover a bit too much in their PH and DMG.  I can think of a lot of things in there that are NOT needed and that my groups never used.

In particular, a lot of the complaints about role-playing and flavor seem silly to me.  These things are best covered by house rules anyway.  If you absolutely cannot wait for a supplement to cover the rules you need, just use the old rules you already know and love.  Why is that so hard?

If your group is inclined to roleplay, then roleplay is going to happen.  If your players are the kind who like to create elaborate character histories, then that is what they are going to do.  No amount of text included in (or left out of) a rulebook can change any of that.

I should start this response by saying that I'm really personally enjoying the new rules.

That being said, I think that what you said about roleplaying is valid, but I have a number of members of my group who have voiced this concern to me. It's as though a lack of rules in the core rulebooks invalidates the form of nuanced character that they are able to build without resorting to house rules.

The great thing about DnD is that house rules can fix just about any gripe people may have with the game. The point though, is that there seems to be a trend toward steamlining the fine details away (in terms of the core rulebooks).

I also want to say that from a personal perspective, as far as rules of that nature go, I'm not likley to pay them nearly as much heed if they're in a later-released supplement. I don't want to have to go back after new rules are made and suddenly have my character know things (statistically speaking) that he didn't know before.

It's all personal preference in the ned and all this article really analyzes is the rules as they are presented in the PHB.

Dungeons & Dragons is considered by many to be the forefather of the modern-day MMO. With the recent release of Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, we are seeing evidence that new Dungeons and Dragons design is being informed by MMOs. In this article, Managing Editor Jon Wood discusses some of the specific elements of the new edition that draw in elements of our genre of video game.

There is little doubt that Dungeons and Dragons (and other early pen and paper games) helped to pave the way for the MMORPG genre. So much so that when co-creator Gary Gygax passed away, many MMORPGers mourned the loss.

It has always been easy to look at MMOs (and all RPGs, really) and find the influences that pen and paper game like Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) have had on them, but the most recent edition of the popular tabletop game turns all of that on its ear. It seems that the student had become the teacher, the circle of life is complete, and a number of other clichés that I could use to say that the recently released 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons looks less like the template for MMORPGs and more like a product of them.

Whether Wizards of the Coast (the current developers of Dungeons and Dragons) designed this new edition of the game to be more appealing to the MMORPG gamer crowd or whether it is simply being informed by a popular game type difficult to say, but there are a number of parallels that should be explored:

Read the article here.

Originally posted by TheFirst109

Not to mention the fact that even if you weren't rushing, the 1-20 review should have come like 2-3 weeks ago. 1-20 is a complete joke in how long it takes to do, and then the game takes a nose dive in content. This is quite obvious to most who have played it and have experience with past mmo's. I agree with the others who said this is a blatant attempt to review the nicer side of the game.

Ok, I'm going to step in here for a minute and explain exactly why this is a 1-20 review:

First, yes, I realize that it doesn't take a long time to run through the content of 1-20 if you're running through the content to progress past it. It's a little bit different when you're playing a game to review it. When you're playing a game for the purposes of a review, you have to go much more slowly. You read every piece of dialogue, you go through unnecessary quests, and just generally spend time exploring.

Also, it isn't enough to move through the content with only one character in only one class. Ideally, you should move through the content with every class and see how it differs both in terms of story and functionality. In this case, I have played four different characters through the content.

Also, as you play those characters, you shoud also try playing on the different server types. In my case, I am playing on PvE, FFA PvP and RP.

It would be totally irresponsible to write a review based on a casual viewing or even a typical play-through. A reviewer needs to be as familiar with the body of what they are reviewing as possible.

Why haven't I reviewed the full game? Probably because I have four characters at and around level 20 and have barely ventured into the rest of the game. As the content is properly completed, we will update the review.

Hope that clears things up for you

Originally posted by SaintViktor

It's the new trend now to only reviewi 1/4th of the game ? Yeah today I bought a new car and the car salesman had me sold when he only showed me 1/4th of the car. The rest of the car is missing though. No wheels, no engine, no brakes and the transmission needs a complete overhaul but other than that I am a happy buyer. If people are going to review the game then review ALL of it or don't even bother ya know ? 

Actually, with the unique nature of the 1-20 campaign, a review on that aspect of the game is appropriate.

Also, given the amount of time that it takes for someone writing a review to move through all of the content of a game is quite substantial, we wanted to provide our users with something opinion-wise until we can do a full and complete review of the entire game.

MMORPGs aren't the same as single player games and shouldn't be reviewed in the same way and certainly can't be reviewed in the same amunt of time.

Hope that clears things up for you.

The folks over at Webzen have provided us with this new, exclusive screenshot from their upcoming MMORPG / FPS hybrid, Huxley.

Check out the full image here.

MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood has been playing the first twenty levels of Funcom's Age of Conan. Today, he presents this review of the game to this point, telling us what worked in the game and what didn't.

A great game that has some issues to work out. That’s how I would describe my experiences so far in Funcom’s Age of Conan.

When getting ready to write this review of the game’s first 20 levels, I had some trouble getting my thoughts into an order that would sound and look good on paper (or on your screen, as the case may be). On the one hand, from a personal point of view, these first twenty levels were some of the most fun that I have had playing an MMORPG title. On the other hand, I did run into a number of problems and customer support, at the time that I used it, was a bit of a mess. In the end, my fellow MMORPGers, I hope to address both the good and the not-so-good elements of the game.

Read the whole reivew here.

The folks from Requiem: Bloodymare have released this new information and new screenshots featuring the Kruxena race for their upcoming MMORPG.

Check out the profile and all eleven screenshots here.

Lord of the Rings Online Executive producer Jeffrey Steefel has recently returned from a trip to Korea where Turbine is getting ready to launch Lord of the Rings Online. MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood recently caught up with Steefel to talk about developing for these two very different markets and what Noth American and European players can expect to see from the move.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel where we talked about launching the game in the Korean market and what that might mean for those of us in the west.

As you may or may not know, Steefel had just returned from a business trip to Korea where Lord of the Rings Online is getting ready to make its debut. He told me that right now, they are finishing up the Closed Beta process and are moving toward a limited Open Beta.

It seems as though there is a lot of interest in the game over there and that fans have been enthusiastic as the game gets closer to launch. When I asked him to compare the fans and anticipation in Korea with the fans and anticipation for the same stage of development here in the North American market, he said that it was a bit like comparing apples and oranges as the markets are so different.

Read the whole article here.

Originally posted by Performer

Originally posted by Stradden

Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel talks about the new content that was recently added to the game with the release of Book 13: Wrath of the Lich King.

 

 It's Doom of the Last-king.

Wow. Have you ever had something in your head that just wouldn't go away? For some reason I've been mixing those two titles up in my head and I keep making that mistake. Damn mental block.

Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel talks about the new content that was recently added to the game with the release of Book 13: Doom of the Last-king.

Check it out here.

The folks over at SOE have sent us a video and some screenshots featuring Gathering Tempest (Game Update #46, a continuing part of their recently announced Living Legacy program.

In “Gathering Tempest”, EverQuest®II’s game update #46, players will experience an exciting live event, introduction of a new zone and a plethora of new content for both current and returning players of all levels.

Check it all out here.

MMORPG.com's Adele Caelia recently submitted some questions from EverQuest II players to the game's developers. Today, we present the final three answers provided by SOE.

Hello devs and thanks for taking the time to answer some of the millions of letters I'm sure you're getting. My questions is a simple one:

Is there a way to make it so that the Necromancer class can choose between the male and female versions of the sorcerer pet spider? I'd really like to have that option and not be stuck with the gender based one. Thank you very much for your time.

Read the questions and answers here.

Originally posted by sadeyx

I would agree..

I looks utterly Shyte! - Are the people at MMORPG so bored or desperate for news that the have to drag up this kind of foul smelling dribble?

I can just about bare the "hello kitty online" and "myth war" kinda of crap games they write articles about.. but this really puts me off using mmorpg.com

I come here to read quality reviews and news not this rubbish..

Carry on like this mmorpg.com and I certainly wont be visiting or reccomending your site to anyone.  Just grow up please and realise that your audience deserves a bit more respect.

I don't see how you feel "disrespected" by this article. It was labelled as a "beyond the MMORPG" article, and is presented for those who wish to read it. If you don't want to read about non-MMO games, don't read Beyond the MMORPG articles.

In this week`s Beyond the MMORPG feature, we take a look at a game called "The Continuum". The Continuum is a flash-based game currently in beta that comes down somewhere between a miniatures game and a trading card game.

Every now and then here at MMORPG.com, we like to venture outside of our genre to talk about a game that, while it doesn’t exactly meet our game list criteria, still might prove to provide a little bit of fun for our readers.

Today in “Beyond the MMORPG”, I want to introduce you all to a little competitive game called The Continuum. Being developed by a company called Seven Lights, The Continuum is currently in the beta phase of production.

One of Seven Lights’ developers, a man named Tim Harris, was kind enough to take some time out of his production schedule to show me around the game a little bit, so that I could share what I learned with players like you who might be interested.

Read the whole thing here.

The folks behind Dreamlords: The Reawakening have sent over these new screenshots for our viewing pleasure.

Check out all five images here.

Dana Baldwin, the Producer of Battleground Europe, brings our anniversary celebrations to a close with this internal Q&A.

Battleground Europe first launched in 2001 to great anticipation and excitement. Seven years later, you can still find that excitement on the virtual battlefields of Western Europe. The creators of the game, Cornered Rat Software, have planned a week long celebration to mark the 7th anniversary of one of the first MMOs to hit the gaming scene. Senior Producer Dana “Gophur” Baldwin was happy to field some questions about first impressions, longevity, and the community.

Read the whole thing here.