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Advice to Bioware that should revolutionize World PvP
General Discussion « Star Wars: The Old Republic 9/19/11 5:37:42 PM
I don't think your numbers work out. A Lieutenant would be a group leader as I see your system. However, in any of the assembled groups some would need to be Majors and other Colonels and finally in one of these groups is the General. So, inevitably one of the groups in the raid party you will have each role covered and 2 lackies. Who exactly would be leading that group... of 2 lackies? I don't mean to minimize your idea and I think the idea might actually work on a huge scale provided there is time to assemble that army and the event lasts long enough to make that time investment worthy, but I don't think SWTOR is going to offer that content. |
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Originally posted by just1opinion You may be on to something there with the WoW factor. By people throwing the little 'o' in there I think they may be intentionally indicating their belief that SW:TOR is a clone of some sort. As we all know at this point is clearly untrue except for those wars that won't happen for a few thousand years. ;) Back to the OP - As for me I will be dual wielding these titles since I like certain features from both and let my experience from them over a few months make my final decision which one I will stick with. I'm sure I'll have it all sorted out by summer. |
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The real answer lies in defining "Massive" otherwise it's just an MO and doesn't fit the industry genre of games covered here. Diablo 3 has not change the battlenet organization of players so with player parties limited in size I don't see it being Massive at all. The will have a massive number of players pooled to group up but since they cannot interact in game at the same time enmass, I have to give Diablo 3 a no go for MMORPG's lists. |
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EVE Online: Ponzi Scheme Biggest Scam in EVE Online History
News Discussion « General Discussion 8/16/11 8:45:38 PM
I'm no lawyer, and not sure how international laws would play into this but I'm not sure the scam falls completely outside the scope of CCP's EULA. Since Phaser, Inc. used a seperate website to organise the transfer of in-game isk with the clear, albeit hind-sighted, intention of bilking the investors of the virtual currency CCP may have grounds to pursue. The worst thing CCP could do is just look the other way in such a highly profiled attack on the player-base from within. While it is true a fool and his money are soon parted, an angry player and his game could part even faster. |
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Originally posted by JosephProsek FYI the gear is dyeable with at least a primary and secondary level. Epic gear may have an additional level or two I don't know for sure as I never got any to try. Nevertheless, an appearance tab could still add some depth to the overall look of our characters. |
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A costume tab is an easy add and will likey make it into the game eventually if not sooner. Look for it being implimented probably with 3 months post launch. |
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Since Trion is commercing side-by-side with other retail outlets i.e., Amazon, GameStop, etc. they have an advantage of hitting their "black ink" day sooner. Their digital CE version sold over 20k on the Trion site within the first 24 hours and looked to be running steady. It could be the quote from them was accurate that "they" sold 100k copies not counting the other retail outlets. I think the title will easily sell 500k but will see them in the black with 350k (pre-orders) if it was true they sold 100k. Buy launch they will be debt free with vc monies paid back with interest and enough cash capital to grow the game and as a result its sub numbers. I see this game running strong for at least the next year and longer if they market the game well and continue to draw on their player base for inspirational nutrition. |
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Originally posted by Mithrandolir What a nice find. I was actually second guessing myself with the original "In like Flynn" post. I had to double check the memory core of that big block of wood between my shoulders and check the wikipedia. To clarify I was referring to the James Colburn movies the first being "Our Man Flint" with the "In Like Flint" sequel. As a side note, Derek Flint was supposedlly in the same mojo class as the swashbuckling Flynn characters.
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Originally posted by Chris7opher Not sure if you're talking about the animated rigging of the characters that accounts for their movement or the graphical depiction the refers to their appearance. Realistic movement is something that can be tweaked a little bit I will admit but doesn't detract too much from the game, at least for me. Appearance wise I can count the hairs and moles on my warriors chest and she's not happy about that I can tell. I think the visuals are quite nice and run well on my system which leads me to believe you may want to look into your system settings, if it's an appearance display issue you have. |
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Originally posted by ScribZ That's really a pretty cool idea. I'd be real curious to see if there exists an obvious preference for one faction or another. |
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On Saturday, January 29th at 1:00 p.m. EST, just as my warrior was leaping gleefully gazelle-like across the causeway and away from the capital city on his newly purchased mount, Trion promptly shut down their servers on their fifth closed beta event of the increasingly popular MMORPG Rift. Although the scheduled down-time was well known, it did seem somewhat abrupt with no global announcement or countdown. Now, as a result, both developers and players alike will need to struggle until the next beta testing phase.
For Trion’s developers, they will need to wade through the deluge of feedback from the player base and endeavor to make adjustments that will offer the kind of content, game mechanics and corrections to bugginess that have been submitted. As for the Rift addicted players, they will need to suffer the relentless torment of withdraw from testing a game title that has been dangled before them several times now like a virtual crack-pipe only to be pulled back too soon and locked away.
It is apparent to many players like me, who have had the opportunity to beta test this game in addition to several others, that Trion is doing something right. Although it will feel to other testers as though I’m preaching to the choir or stoking the hype campfire to keep those embers glowing, I am attempting to point out for the benefit of those watching from the sidelines (including other game houses) what it is that I think they are doing right, as well as a few other thoughts.
Hello, Trion?
I think this is important and so much so that I mention this first and foremost, Trion IS listening. It sounds simple enough but in the full scope of things we have to remember that what one player really likes about the game another may have an aversion to, then multiply that fifty-thousand times and you begin the laying of a minefield that Trion must carefully navigate in order to appease their players and alienate as few as possible. It is impractical to expect that everyone will be blissful with the final rendering of the title at launch but again Trion is clearly making the effort to listen to all the input and remain impartial and at the same time approach any changes as any fellow avid gamer would.
In like Flint.
Perhaps that sub-title is dating me a bit (nothing to do with black-powder firearms, I swear) but those familiar with “Our Man Flint” and Rift realize that getting inside and taking control against impossible odds (here referring to laggy and lop-sided rift events while LIVE) is heroic work. For Trion to be making the relevant changes with fixes to content and game mechanics during what is known in development cycles as the title’s 11th hour, is just incredible. I have to applaud them, not for their work but for their passion toward the work. They are gamers dedicated to the enjoyment of other gamers and they have given me the honest impression that they are having as much fun as the play-testers in the process.
“Alas, will our heroic Trion survive the turmoil and be able to accomplish their ultimate goal of delivering a pristinely polished package to our local game store in time to save our world… of Telara? Tune in to find out!! Same Rift time (March 1st), same Rift channel.”
In the meantime, we will test and tremble with anticipation while waiting to see. Hopefully by then certain game spots will have heard of Rift, those slackers (crack a book, Googling for Dummies).
Upon the Highest Wire.
If you’ve ever seen the big circus, I mean the one with the really huge tent then you may recall the high wire acts that performed. Just when you thought you had seen something astonishing they direct you eyes further upward to a most unlikely place in the tent where you were about to learn that the best had yet to come. Up until now Trion has been spoon feeding the content one testing phase at a time (with imposed level caps) moving toward the upper end content with each beta event more impressive than the last. So it begs the question from me as to what we will ultimately find shrouded in those darkest reaches lingering above our heads. Obviously the best is yet to come but what will it be? Will it include us tripping through to the nether-side of a death rift to deal with Regulos only to find out you can’t kill death incarnate? Hmmm.
It Takes a Village.
We know that games like Rift are created and exist for the entertainment and enjoyment of a select community of players, albeit a large and expanding one. Once Rift has successfully launched it will begin for Trion a new phase known as post development, this of course after some long overdue vacation time is spent. Properly moving into a post development phase is perhaps one of the most vital times for a new title and can ultimately determine its long term survival in the market as well as its growth and market share. If Trion continues to flex those brawny brain cells and continues to include their player base as their major nutritional source of inspiration Rift may easily be positioned as a game of the year winner with serious legs taking it into the next year. None of this will happen however, without their players. Therefore, post development will no doubt include a focus on web-based informational contact content like; character searching, more in-depth and frequent developer video blogs as well as more frequent “town-square” type forums that can actually take place in-game (on a beta test server). Well ok, maybe that last one was more fantasy than actual; it couldn’t hurt to throw it out there.
Chomping at the bit.
What to do while waiting for CB6 for many players will include one of two things or both. One will be skulking reluctantly back to a currently subscribed to MMO that they will play while finding more fault with it than fun because now somehow it has lost all its luster compared to Rift or they will allow the Rift forums to play wet-nurse to them as it teases them with things like so-and-so’s YouTube video of their PvP or dungeon adventures that were missed out on. For me, it’s writing this article that will probably be lambasted (by naysayers) or ignored or more likely… both.
Leave it Alone.
Leave it alone, it’s not a clone. Man if I had a dollar for every time some asshat called a game a WoW clone I’d be retired on a beach in Tahiti with a high-tech sat-link to the internet so I don’t miss the next beta. Is Toyota a clone of Ford since they purposely and blatantly copied everything Ford Motors did to build automobiles? The short answer is, no. The longer answer is, hell no.
Granted there are countless and expected similarities because if you want to build one right, you need to learn how to build one right, right? Trion has simply used the same materials and know-how available to every other game developer to build their MMO, their way. It’s their style, their concept, their plan, their passion and that should be the end-all of that argument because let’s face it, if there was that much clone-worthy similarity wouldn’t you expect lawyers from Activision-Blizzard knocking on Trion’s door. Not happening, right?
Closing Credits.
I would like to thank Trion’s development team for CB5’s impromptu extension of a whole day which, for almost every player online, when it was announced in-game had that news fall upon them like manna from heaven… not the other mana… which coincidentally I needed at that time.
Kudos also goes out to their impeccable customer service personnel who have worked tirelessly to get those beta invites into our greedy little hands and have tried everything short of tearing apart the time-space continuum to see everyone invited prior to start, though a few were still stuck in the Flux (Farscape reference apologized for in advance) and arrived late if at all. The bright side in this, if one can be found, is that they should have received a VIP invite that will be good for the remaining CB testing.
What I would like to see Trion include in the upcoming closed betas is a simple request. I would like to see all existing player characters and newly made, receive an “advancement token” in their character’s inventory. The player has the option of using it at any time and it will instantly advance their character to the current beta’s level cap. It’s really for those that have come late to the party, so they need not linger overly long leveling up. They could take their time of course but once they get the gist of the game they could exercise the option to move ahead and join everyone else in the latest content being tested. Let’s see if Dom gets the nod from Trion on this one.
I have beta tested a throng of MMO titles including some I will never forget no matter how hard I try and played numerous of launched MMO titles, thankfully missing some that garnered quite a bit of unworthy hype. So, I shrug when I am posed this question. Do I see Rift as a “WoW” killer? Even with all my gaming experience or perhaps more so because of it, I surmise there really is no proper answer for that question due to it ultimately being a matter of when it will happen. Only time will tell if this turns out to be the David vs. Goliath battle we know must eventually surface. Regardless I definitely see Rift being a strong contender in the MMO marketplace.
In closing, my advice to Trion is to stick with your current business model and don’t get wishy-washy, ala free2play. My advice to any avid MMO enthusiast is to buy early and stay late. Now if I can only get my whole family to play I may talk to my mother more often.
Be seeing you there,
Dom
I tread through the MMORPG forums with painful caution because I know the caustic nature of the trolls that dwell here. Nevertheless, let the murderous feeding begin.
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Champions Online: F2P Version Launching Jan. 25th
News Discussion « General Discussion 1/17/11 5:08:57 PM
Originally posted by Darkholme Cryptic hasn't tried to fool anyone before although they have tended to bite off a little more than they can chew. From what seems apparent the F2P is just a stripped down version of the full blown subcription accounts, which will still exist. If you recall even the full accounts were subject to c-store purchases for new costumes and such. I just hope they have everything working so players who have never played it get to enjoy it even at a F2P level. I'll look in on it later and who knows, maybe I'll jump back in. |
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I've played DAoC, WoW, LoTRO, AoC, WAR and EQ2 each for a solid length of time and enjoyed many aspects of each but not all. But that's the way it is. I had the great fortune to beta test a few of those titles prior to launch and can attest that each needed further maturation before they were launched. Having beta tested Rift I was stunned at how ready the game looks. Granted they are still tweeking the incursions and rift popping and mob balancing but everything else seemed to work really well. Mail system (check), auction (check), teleporting with pets (check) and so forth. At this point I see Trion focussing on listening more intently than ever to the player base that will be entering Rift so they can deliver the fun game their players are expecting. I like seeing positive input about a game. That doesn't mean all happy bunny-time cuddle words of hype about the game but instead what players see as being done right. It is inevitable that players will find something that just doesn't suit them and that is fine to mention it but include a possible resolution aka, constructive criticism. I look forward to pre-ordering this title and giving it a fair shot at winning a long term subscription. Will I compare it to others I've played as I judge it's value, sure I will but only after I have given it that fair shot. I personally can't judge that kind of detail in about 20 hours of game play. I've been eyeing SWTOR as well so I hope for a real battle brewing bewteen the two for my time over the next few years. |
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Originally posted by grinningmonk /agreed sry. missed your post whilst i was posting. grin. |
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Tera Trolls... hmmph. I've played Korean developed games before with LoS combat and dodging that most of the time is dodgy and slow. Welcome home gold fammas. I'll never play them again. Enjoy its released this month... in South Korea. If you're not too closed minded as to what Tera is: |
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Like some others I had not played WoW in quite some time and suddenly, out of the blue, Blizzard started sending me emails about a possible violation or security issue with my account. I was able to log in and saw the game account was still inactive so I blew it off. The warnings then started coming at least once a month and I decided to contact Blizzard. I asked them to purge the account and they proceeded to inform me that they do not do that. I insisted that my personal and private information was on their servers that were clearly not safe and there is nothing in the EULA that indicated Blizzard has rights to hold that info indefinately on their servers... PURGED! If you too have left WoW be advised you may not have completely left WoW. It's your info out there, get it back and get it purged. |
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I admit also that until a few days ago I had not heard of RIFT. It goes without saying that without exposure for your product you will not launch with massive number sales. The video game market is vast enough for new blood and is certainly still young enough that as it continues to expand there will be room for these new titles (and their game houses) for decades to come, but staying power is another matter. For staying power a game requires a solid foundation of loyal players somewhere in the range of 150k to 250k subscribers which means that even when the chips are down and the ebb and flow of players is evident there remains a constant of membership that can keep enough revenue coming in to support advancing the game. Creative marketing is a vital tool that can not be ignored. This is not exclusively focused on advertising, in fact even WoW does not advertise very often although we have all seen (Wild Bill) Shatner and Mr. T strut their stuff to sell the game. What will be needed in this current market and economy is an initial free-to-play period right out of the gate. For RIFT specifically, I would advise an unlimited play period but the character would be limited to only one soul. (WISHLIST ALERT) They may also consider an aggressive subscription fee program that offers players 2 or 3 different subscription amounts with the higher comparable fees yielding in-game items on a weekly basis for their characters. Balance behind the scenes inside the dev studio where the execs advance the game as the player base calls for it. Rather than spend time and funds developing things that may out pace the game's lifespan they focus exclusively on balancing what they have built and connect quickly additional content to the most immediate aspects of the game where players note a lack or weakness there of. I did not bother mentioning the importance of gameplay mechanics, content and the like in this post because it really goes without saying how vital they are. None of the above would matter without these essential elements. I'm looking forward to playing soon 2011 is not far and maybe the powers-that-be will throw me a beta invite. Hoping to see you guys in there!! |
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Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning: Games Workshop Files Suit over Warhammer Alliance
News Discussion « General Discussion 5/08/10 12:03:52 PM
This is the "devil's spinning coin" scenario. As long as the coin remains spinning on its edge (which is best for both parties), both are winners as EA maintains a good fan base and slightly growing community through Curse's efforts and Curse continues to offer a premier location for cybernauts to get their latest info about the game. If the coin stops spinning, heads or tails, they both lose. The best thing for EA to do here was correct any flaws in the relationship with Curse (and other fansites) and maybe even solidify the fansite as one of their recommended "goto" community sites. Anything else just gives the devil opportunity to watch the coin drop... and laugh. |
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Star Trek Online: Pre-Order Bonuses Detailed
News Discussion « General Discussion 12/07/09 9:12:00 PM
They need to offer a bit more, like Cryptic Points that can be spent in either Champions Online or STO. And not be stingy make it like 2000 or more points not 500 like with CO. Players should expect to purchase additional character slots with those points like in CO. Looking forward to playing it. |
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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Impressions of the Imperial Agent
News Discussion « General Discussion 11/21/09 10:46:42 AM
I've had poor experiences with MMO stealth classes in several games and have hope that Bioware gets it right. Although the stealth mechanics often worked as expected there were three problems. The first was falling out of stealth during your attack and revealing yourself to nearby foe. Similarly, if you were sniping a target it usually sent an alarm that caused those close by to give chase. This usually lead to the second problem, which was "active" crowd control. While you can sometimes plan ahead and sap a few before a kill, if you are dealing with a large crowd of targets things will often require active crowd controls to manage those numbers. The third and biggest problem I always seemed to have was that stealth classes usually sucked in PvP unless they were backed up by other stealthers or a pocket healer (stupid Witch Hunters). It was as if the stealth mechanics suddenly stopped working and again without active crowd controls you were a sitting duck. A few things Bioware may do right, I hope is this: 1. Because each class is given class specific questing thru the story arc it should at least be fun and often soloable as stealthers generally go. 2. They are able to use environmental cover and hopefully while sniping from that cover be difficult to spot. 3. The use of specialized grenades could allow for the active crowd control they might need if things get busy. 4. Stealth classes are usually the last to be balanced out. Hopefully they don't wait. And with that a small suggestion. This class usually deploys very high burst damage while protected by the weakest armor in the game. Don't balance it that way. PLEASE! Instead, challenge the player's skills and make those crit kills a positional requirement. As part of their unique HUD it could include the "potential" crit % of an attack launched as they circle a target or take a sniper's bead from a distance. Their armor and gear are allowing them to stealth, it should greatly influence how difficult it will be to target them. 5. It's Bioware dammit and they makes some awesome games. Given the small number of classes I think they could do this one right with enough focus.
/steps off soapbox |
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