Yuck, DCUO PvP

It took me all of about an hour to be bored with DCUO's PvP server.  Within the first few minutes of the journeying through the open world I was being repeatedly ganked by level 20+ characters, with no chance of survival or escape.  After finally getting to the first quest location, I was then repeatedly ganked again.

Yuck.

SOE, 1999 called, they want their PvP system back.

I will have to re-roll on the PvE server to see if the experience is better.  I like the mechanics of the game so far and being able to run at super speed from the moment I set foot into the open world is an amazing feeling.  However, I see myself becoming quickly bored with the "Kill 10 Rats" quest types.  Hopefully the "dungeons" are better.

DC Universe Online Revenue Up 700% due to Free 2 Play

Another game gone Free 2 Play (F2P) and another success story.  This time it was DC Universe Online from Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and the success was a 700% increase in revenue for the game.  So it's no surprise that they are also launching their other titles such as Everquest 2 into the F2P atmosphere.  With my SOE hate somewhat in my past, I may have to give DCUO a try now.  It is on Steam after all :)

Full article on the revenue increase can be found here: LINK.

What is EverQuest II Extended? Good fucking question.

Everquest II is going free 2 play.  No, I'm not kidding.  Go read the FAQ.

Extended provides access to premium subscription-quality content through free and optional paid membership levels. Powered by an all-new web-based download application, new and veteran players alike can experience all the excitement and depth of EQII's content without a daunting installation or a massive download. Players can register within minutes, download the client to join other people in an epic journey, and launch into adventure in a fantastical online 3D world. Extended is the ultimate MMORPG experience. Excitement with every breath and adventure around every turn is now available for free!

Basically, its a new game that is free 2 play, but will offer premium payment options. It somehow ties into the subscription based Everquest 2.

This takes me to my pet peeve with free 2 play games: they are too fucking hard to understand. A chief example is Dungeons and Dragons Online. I spent more time trying to figure out what I could or could not achieve without paying instead of just playing the game. Everquest II is sounding about the same and players are likely to be confused, especially when they try to wrap their head around how it ties into the subscription game (now known as Everquest II Live).

I like the idea and the direction SOE is taking this whole free 2 play thing, but I'm not sure tacking it onto all of their current franchises and games is the way to go. As always, SOE will be interesting to watch.

Scratch that, this is going to be a fucking riot.  Just read their proposed plans for providing support to players:

The self help knowledge base will be accessible to all players regardless of their Extended membership status. As clearly outlined in the membership benefits matrix, customer service is only provided to players who have made a real money transaction in EQII Extended or at least have a Gold membership.

Magic: The Gathering, Planeswalkers,Tactics

Magic: The Gathering (MtG) Duels of the Planeswalkers has launched today on the PC via Steam.  Duels of the Planeswalkers is a simplified version of MtG where players play with set preconstructed decks and modified rules.  It is meant as an introduction to MtG as there is already a true MtG Online that is faithful to the hard copy CCG.

I've downloaded my copy (plus expansion pack 1) and will have some comments up later this week.

---

Secondly, we have new information out of E3 about SOE's MtG: Tactics,  a 3D strategy game based on the MtG world and lore.  Watch the video below:



It's an interesting take on MtG, but I'm not sure I'm sold on it after watching the video. Also, we know little to nothing about how it plays. It does fit into SOE's current stable of games, as they continue the move away from traditional MMOGs (such as Everquest) and focus on niche strategy games (Pox Nora) and casual social games (Free Realms).

Here's another pic of Tactics:

SOE + Star Wars + MMO = Star Wars in Free Realms?

After the NGE debacle, no one could have imagined that SOE would be allowed to create another Star Wars MMOG. We were wrong; we were very, very wrong. SOE has announced a new game, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, coming fall 2010.

However, SOE seems to have learned a lesson with the success of Free Realms: casual and micro-transaction supported games can work. Visit their website or watch the video below and it is immediately noticeable that the game is not aimed at the hardcore or even core MMO gamers.

It will be interesting to see how this is received and whether the MMO blog'o'sphere will start writing the obituary for SOE's core franchises like Everquest.



P.S. Unlike many others, I liked the Clone Wars animated movie.

Return to the Galaxy for FREE

Any player that has previously subscribed to Star Wars Galaxies will be able to play the game free of charge between February 1st and March 1st.

No, this is not out of the kindness of SOE's heart.  Its an offer to promote their upcoming Galactic Civil War expansion: Forces Under Siege.  This would be the expansion where SOE finally realizes that there is a galactic civil war occurring during the Star Wars classic time line.

Any old-school player (that means pre-NGE) will probably remember little to nothing about the galactic civil war from the original game, because there wasn't one.  Sure, Rebels and Imperial scum could chase each other around and spam knockdowns, but it was for no gain to either faction.  It was nothing more than a constant gankfest at each of the spaceports.  It sucked.  No, it really, really sucked. 

However, the new expansion approach to the GCW isn't going to tempt me back into the game.  I only mention it because its a free month of play for a MMOG, a Star Wars MMOG no less.

Looking Back on 2009, Heartless' Predictions Reviewed

Its that magical time of year where I get to review my predictions for the previous year. Read my original predictions post here.  My commentary is after the jump:

Veteran's Day: Pirates of the Burning Sea FREE For 6 Months

While Flying Labs Software did not make this announcement on veteran's day, I wanted to talk about it:

Military personnel that can verify their status through a .mil e-mail address will be able to partake in an interesting promotion announced by Flying Lab Software this week. The promotion offers six months of Pirates of the Burning Sea to military personnel, however, in order to continue playing after the free six months you will still have to purchase a copy of the game.

I've run the full gambit of decisions on Pirates of the Burning Seas. From almost joining their core audience as a player community liaison to the announcement of SOE publishing the game crushing my dreams, eventually I decided to skip the game's launch.

It turned out that the launch did not go so well and the game was quickly written off as a niche "failure". In my opinion, the game is right where I anticipated, a niche game with a niche audience. Fortunately, this free offer for military members gives me a proper 6 months to evaluate the game (and at $7 for a copy of the game, I may be tempted to just take the plunge down the road).

I started my journey into the game last night. The download and setup was a breeze, but that is a requirement for me these days. Any hiccups at that stage and I tend to dump any free game in a heartbeat.

Character creation was pretty awesome and I feel I've created a unique French Naval Officer, named Captain Heartless Gamer. With a Captain, a ship, and the tutorial complete, I set out for some adventures. The game can really be broken down into four areas: ships, avatars, economy, and PvP.

As I only played for an hour or so, I've only experienced ship and avatar combat. Ship combat is pretty solid and enjoyable. It can be slow at times, but I suspect it will get better as my ship gets better. Avatar combat is a cheap attempt to introduce a little classic diku-inspired MMO into PotBS. It works, but I wouldn't hold it up as a strong point.

At the end of the day, I'm playing for the open seas, the economy, and eventually some PvP. Good thing I have six months to feel the situation out!

News Roundup: SWG Server Closures, 5M Confused Free Realmers, and The MMO Prophet

Unbeknown to everyone, Star Wars Galaxies still had 25 servers running. However, they've decided to close 12 servers:

Sony Online Entertainment has announced and notified Star Wars Galaxies players that the game will be shutting down 12 servers on October 15th. The effected servers are:

* Corbantis
* Europe-Infinity
* Intrepid
* Kauri
* Kettemoor
* Lowca
* Naritus
* Scylla
* Tarquinas
* Tempest
* Valcyn
* Wanderhome

I hate server closures, but secretly love them when they are done for the right reasons. SWG needed to close servers because the playerbase was getting spread too far apart. The consolidated servers will provide a much better player density.

This presents a unique challenge, as SWG allows players to own property. I would hate to be the guy that loses prime real estate right outside of Mos Eisley on Tatooine, but at the same time, I would welcome the potential new business when I find a new plot of land to settle on a more populated server!

Following suit with more SOE-related news: Free Realms *almost* hits 5 million players.

Sony Online Entertainment's free-to-play MMO Free Realms is 'close to' 5 million registered users, revealed Sony Online president John Smedley, speaking in a Gamasutra-attended panel at Comic-Con International San Diego 2009,

We still don't have any revenue figures, and as Facebook and Twitter have taught the Web 2.0 world, big user bases tend to cost A LOT of money and are not necessarily equatable to profits.

I played Free Realms and it was fun for a few days. It wore off quickly and once stripped down, there is nothing in Free Realms for me. Which is apparent, as SOE also announced that 75% of Free Realms players are under 18 years of age and a lot of them can't remember what year they were born or whether the lack of a twig'n'berries between their legs meant M or F:

Additionally, Smedley updated some of the game's demographics, stating 67 percent of players are male and 33 percent are female. "We were shooting for more females, but that's way better than the MMO audience which is [typically only] 15 percent female," says Smedley. He added that Free Realms stats show females outpurchase males by a 30-40 percent margin, and that 51 percent of Free Realms gamers are under 13, with around 75 percent under 18.

At launch, 40 percent of players were hitting Free Realms' registration website, and walking away. SOE found out that the average 10-year-old kid was getting hung up at the birth date field -- kids knew the day and month of their birth, but not the year. And they weren't filling out the "gender" field.

Snark aside, grats to SOE on Free Realms, we need more successes in the MMOG market.

Lastly, Tobold (the MMO Prophet) predicted World of Warcraft: Cataclysm:

Reader Luka is going through my archives from 2003 to now, and sent me a comment about one of my posts I had long forgotten about. It is from October 16, 2008, with comments on WoW patch 3.0 and ends with this paragraph:

MMORPGs are multiplayer games, and much of their attraction comes from the interaction with other players. As the players moved on, a huge part of World of Warcraft just ceased to exist. What is left behind is just an empty stage, and faint memories of the plays that were enacted on that stage. To populate that part of the world again, we'd need a completely different type of expansion: Not 10 more levels added to the endgame, but a cataclysm striking the old world, and changing it. New classes, maybe even new races, and most of the quests and zones of old Azeroth being changed to breathe new life into them. I wonder if we'll ever get such an expansion.

RMT != micro-transactions

Darren, the "common sense" gamer, believes $10 is a bit much for a mount in free-to-play, but supported by micro-transactions, Runes of Magic.

Here’s the deal….and I’m absolutely disgusted by this. A “permanent” horse in Runes of Magic, it is 199 diamonds…let’s call it 200 cause that’s what it really should be (…seriously guys…time to start rounding things up…). 200 diamonds cost $10.94 Canadian.

Are you seriously telling me, with a straight face, that a digital HORSE costs me $10…FUCKING..DOLLARS!!!@!@ That’s if you want to buy it outright…for cash. You can buy diamonds on the auction house which you can then buy the horse…but good gawd. The horses dollar value straight up is almost as much as an entire subscription.

Following up on this is a discussion at p0tsh0t:

Truth be told, while I’m usually more of the mind that RMT is the debbil, I think the RoM mount topic is a decent example of an RMT item and approach that could work in most games. What the game companies need to keep in mind is that their RMT and game models should deliver value and entertainment to a broad audience with varied time budgets.

Here's the problem. Real Money Trade (RMT) is not the same as micro-transactions.

RMT occurs when players trade real money for items in a subscription-based game. The developers rarely see a dime unless, like SOE, specifically set it up to take a cut of the transactions.

Micro-transactions are a business model, meant to allow a developer to support a game. In most cases, the game is free-to-play.

In this specific example, Runes of Magic is free to play, but supported by micro-transactions. If a player wants a horse, they spend $10 for the entirety of the time they play the game. World of Warcraft on the other hand, is a subscription-based game that has a volcanic third-party RMT market attached. Players often pay upwards of $500 for unique mounts, on top of paying $15 a month to access the game!

Further down in the p0tsh0t post, a breakdown of what an epic flying mount probably costs in World of Warcraft:

Using the epic flyer as an example, if I really applied myself, I could probably log on and earn a few hundred gold a day without outlevelling our group too much in a relatively small amount of time each session. At 200 gold a session, that would take about 25 sessions to yield the 5,000 gold for the skill and the mount. If I played an average session every other day, that would be about 50 days or almost two months of just casual self-gold farming. All other things equal, I should be ok with paying the equivalent of about $30 for my epic flyer (or the equivalent in game currency).

So, I ask the "common sense gamer" why he is flabbergasted by a $10 mount when it is obvious players are willing spend 3 times that amount just to access a service that will allow them the pleasure of working hard to obtain a mount.

The truth is that many traditional MMOG players have lost touch with the micro-transaction movement in the market. They see a $10 price tag for something in a micro-transaction game and apply the concept to a subscription game. Immediately it seems insane that anyone would pay real money for something that they feel they get for "free" in their subscription game. They fail to realize they are paying in time and real money for a mount in their subscription game. Often times, a lot more. Not to mention the players going to RMT markets to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of real dollars for in-game perks in subscription games.

I was once one of the lost. I used to see micro-transactions as RMT. It's simply not the truth. RMT does not equal micro-transactions.

Free Realms Hits 2 Million, None Could Be Reached For Comment

Free Realms, fresh off their first million players announcement, has announced that they've reached the 2 million mark.

Today Sony announced that over 2 million unique users have registered to their new free2play MMORPG Free Realms. Of those users, 75% are under the age of 17, 46% under 13 and 1/3 are female gamers. To be honest I thought Free Realms was going to be a flop. I didn’t actually play it, but I obviously severely underestimated the draw it would have on young people. Two million unique registered players in less then one month is huge to say the least.

Certainly a remarkable feat, although moot in the grand scheme of "is it making any money?". However, I honestly question where these two million players reside. I've logged a few hours in Free Realms now and I have yet to actually speak to anyone in game directly. I haven't even seen local chat between players. Even when playing the card game, there is limited to no talk between players. So far, Free Realms is a 3D web site that forces you to run from mini-game to mini-game instead offering the instant access of a standard website.

I'm really confused on what to think of Free Realms. The mini-games get repetitive fast, but yet tie back into a larger world which varies the goals and makes the repetition at least mildly interesting. Secondly, the game play is solid and the game itself runs without a hitch (so far).

But as I approach more than a few hours played, I am starting to see the freebies run out and the game increasingly asking for a credit card. Plus, it loves to remind players at every loading screen that member benefits are only $4.99 (per month) away and as anyone that plays Free Realms knows, there are A LOT of loading screens.

Unfortunately, I don't think SOE cares. They are hitting their age demographic and as I have no teenagers/young adults in my household, Free Realms is most likely to be lost upon me.

H is for Hypocrite and Heartless_

Yes, I am playing Free Realms. Yes, I still hate SOE, but I simply can't argue with a quality free games. Yes, I just referred to SOE, game, and quality in the same sentence without any curse words.

After a couple hours of play, I like the basics of Free Realms: do whatever you want, whenever you want. There is competitive, co-op, and solo play galore. Free Realms boils down to a bunch of mini-games connected via a hub world.

So far, I have not run into anything in-game asking for a credit card number, but then again, I was side tracked at the race track with the destruction derby mini-game for most of my playtime. I know micro-transactions are out there and that the card game (which is of great interest to me) relies heavily upon real cash.

I am skeptical that the micro-transaction model can generate enough revenue to support, what seems to be, a traditional game with a significant development footprint. Especially when a lot of game is available free of charge.

My other concern, after a few hours of play on US Server #1, is the lack of socialization in Free Realms between players. I found myself wandering aimlessly, rarely meeting another player in the hub world. In the destruction derby competitive mini-game, it wasn't very clear how to identify other players or how I could communicate with them. On top of that, Free Realms encourages players to always be doing something, which makes it hard to socialize properly.

Oh well, look for me online as Heartless Gamer, male of the human variety.

Predictions for 2009

1. The economy will not "collapse", but it isn't going to get better until the governments of the world leave it to the free market to correct itself.

2. The weak economy will encourage smaller, fiscally responsible game development projects. This will lead to a bunch of interesting stuff coming out in the MMO space, whether technically massively multiplayer or not is yet to be seen.

3. Even with number 2, subscription based MMOs will still be king of the revenue stream at the end of 2009. Thank World of Warcraft for giving MMO developers false hope everywhere.

4. World of Warcraft will not get a new expansion, but something will be announced. It will focus more on new hero classes, the Alliance vs Horde conflict, and high end raiding.

5. WAR will still be around by the end of 2009, but who remains around to develop it may be drastically different.

6. More MMOs will close their doors. The true sign of doom will be when SOE starts closing down some of its B-team living painfully on Station Pass.

7. Speaking of SOE. The doom and gloom continues as SOE continues to push RMT practices on its non-RMT games.

8. An MMO project will come out of left field this year and surprise us all. Scott Jennings may or may not be involved, but he’ll blog about it regardless.

9. The world will end if Diablo III and Starcraft II are both launched in 2009.

WAR Isn't Fun

"I’ve already played Warhammer. It was called World of Warcraft." - Richard Bartle

Bartle was right, he did play WAR already, and it was WoW. Just like Bartle, many players will try to play WAR as they do WoW and then wonder why they aren’t playing WoW or state they are sick of playing WoW. That’s fine. No one can force them to change their mind on how to play MMOs.

Unfortunately, Bartle gave validation to many “WAR is just WoW” viewpoints. However, many seem to have missed the part where Dr. Bartle admitted that he played a lot of WoW and had fun doing so. So, if he already played WAR, and it was WoW, then WAR is probably going to be fun to some degree. Bartle was simply burned out.

This brings me to a post at Virgin Worlds where Brent asserts that WAR just isn’t fun. Sadly, Brent uses Dr. Bartle’s quote to defend his position. That doesn’t add up, as WAR has to be fun by Bartle's assertion. Brent's view shows the effect that Bartle’s ill-fated quote has had on those looking for evidence to indict WAR as a failure.

I don’t dislike Brent and I’m not going to start throwing hypocrisy around again. I want to look into why Brent views WAR as a foregone failure. It starts in the recent Virgin Worlds Podcast #127, where Brent spends a lot of time talking about the “next generation” of MMOs and how games coming out currently are “last generation, nothing new to see here, move along please”.

It is evident that Brent is not interested in the current generation of MMO games and it is unlikely he would view any of them as “fun”. I wish Brent would just come out and say that, instead of looking for validation to prop up his opinion in misguided quotes and propaganda.

Unfortunately, Brent makes the argument that Sony Online Entertainment has a slew of upcoming next generation games, while reporting from a SOE-sponsored fan-faire. That absolutely dumbfounds me, because SOE has absolutely no games on tap that we haven’t seen versions of before.

Free Realms is an online world filled with mini-games that runs on micro-transactions.

The Agency is an online, class-based and multi-player shooter with persistent world aspects.

DC Universe Online is a super hero MMO that focuses on action and offers a peak at physics based game play.

None of the listed games offers anything new other than the fact that SOE is putting huge development dollars into them. Puzzle Pirates, released in 2003, does the online game world filled with mini-games and customizable avatars already. Doom, released in 1993, not only invented the first person shooter genre, but took it online as well. Planetside, another SOE game that happens to be a persistent online shooter, has been around since 2003. City of Heroes, a super hero MMO, has been around since 2004. Physics-based games have been all-the-rage for the last few years.

It is absolutely SOE fanboy-ish to argue any of them are next generation. I’m sorry, but that invalidates Brent’s criticism of WAR. Brent likes SOE and despises WAR. He is entitled to that opinion, but he needs to stick to it as an opinion, not try and use it as evidence that WAR "is just another WoW" and therefore will fail.

The gaming industry has shown a complete lack of ability to innovate quickly. Change occurs slowly, over time, from release to release. There is never going to be a mainstream game that suddenly changes the playing field in terms of players and mechanics. Some games, such as WoW, will storm in and take over a genre, but not through innovation.

The next generation is going to come slowly over time and those waiting for it will never find it. Every time they look at a new game, they will see something from the last game and claim that they are going to “sit this one out” in anticipation of the next generation.

Meh

Meh, Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) gets its own card game. This is something that would of been awesomely cool at launch, but feels completely tacked on now. Plus, Sabaac is the penultimate card game for any Star Wars role-playing game, and no company seems to be willing to touch it. I honestly had wet dreams when it was mentioned that SWG would possibly have Sabaac in game at some point. Sadly it never happened.

I am not going to blast SOE too hard on this one. I am a sucker for card games and the market needs more of them on official online platforms that don't cost an arm and a leg to participate in (I'm looking at you MtG Online).

I've said it before; these sort of projects are the ones I can bear coming out of SOE. I just don't like the tacked on feeling of most of them. Can't one of them be launched on its own platform without a tie-in to a B-rate MMO?

Smedley Says

I like to play a game, sort of like Simon Says, called Smedley Says. However, in Smedley Says, players don't perform any action when it is prefixed by Smedley Says.

For example: "Smedley Says PS3 MMO set to rival Warcraft!"

Any player that believes that, is eliminated from the game and may be subject to being tagged as an oxygen thief.

The Agency: Are You Fucking Kidding Me?

I won't lie. I hit the Hatorade pretty hard in regards to SOE. But come on, they aren't even trying anymore!!! Evidence: The Agency gameplay video.

UPDATE: Please read the comments for speculation on when this video was from. I blame it all on Razor.



I'm not sure what's worse: John Smedley's Steve Jobs "I only wear comfortable clothes" impersonation or the actual gameplay footage. I could sit here and make a bunch of comparisons between fat chicks and the gameplay, but I won't. SOE, put this garbage back in the shed until you have something decent to show us.

Why Is It So Hard To Believe?

Is it really that hard to believe that SOE could possibly have been sold to an Indian gaming company? I am going to present some ideas that should make people think twice about SOE's denial.

Prior mergers and moves:

1. EA scooped up Bioware out of nowhere.

2. Blizzard and Activision merged out of the blue.

3. Mythic denied any buyouts. A month later they became EA Mythic.

4. SOE and Sigil repeatedly denied Vanguard being bought out, before SOE promptly bought the rights to Vanguard.

Items of note in the current SOE buyout rumors:

1. Smedley first denied the buyout by posting on a 3rd-party site, EQ2flames. No, he did not choose his own blog, the official EQ2 website, or filter the information through his community managers. Nope, he posted a denial on the most prolific Everquest 2 rumor-mongering website on the net.

2. The parent company of SOE, Sony Pictures, has been all but quiet on the matter so far. A denial from them would put this to rest quickly. Is it so hard to believe that Sony Pictures may have tried to keep this under wraps until after the holidays?

3. The "rumor" post was spread across several reliable, multi-national news agencies. Also, it spread quickly through several financial-related outlets.

4. SOE hired a former IGE bigwig to head up international relations. He just so happened to have recently visited India. Of course, this lends credibility to the idea that SOE may be working on a deal in India, not necessarily being sold.

5. The reported sales price of $300 million is questionable if the reported revenue of SOE is $150 million yearly. However, this wouldn't be the first case of an online-based company being bought for significantly more or less than their current revenue value.

6. Lastly, if the recent report on MMORPG subscriptions holds any weight, most of SOE's online games have been bleeding subscriptions.


Yes, I like to stir the pot.

Breaking: SOE bought out?

Having done a fair share of research for my Economics courses, via The Economic Times website, I was quite surprised to see news about Sony Online Entertainment pop up (via Virgin Worlds).

Apparantly, Zapak Digital entertainment, an India-based online gaming company, is set to buy out Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) for around $300 million.

This acquisition is in line with the future plans of Zapak Digital, which is planning to enter the gaming space in China by early next year. “This makes perfect sense for us, as around 80% of content in the gaming industry is manufactured internationally. Buying out Sony, will not only give us access but also expand our reach in the global market,” said a senior Zapak Official.

Now, lets all put on our tinfoil hats for this next quote.

The major expenses in the gaming industry is on content and marketing, and Zapak aims to reduce the cost of publishing a game by buying out those studios and relocating them to India

If that reads correctly, SOE may be moved to India? Now wouldn't that be a Christmas gift for all involved!

UPDATE: John Smedley, as always, denies everything.

This story is completely false. We aren't for sale

No idea who made this up. We are in discussions with various companies in India about bringing our games to this growing market but that's it. We aren't for sale.

Smed

I Could, but I'm Tired

It simply isn't worth the effort. SOE caught red-handed.

Yes, I'm letting this one pass by.