DAoC recently released three new servers with the title of "classic"... meaning no Trials of Atlantis(ToA) (no more master levels and artifacts) and no buff bots. These were two of my largest issues with DAoC orginally. You needed a buff bot to compete and after ToA you needed to be ML 10 with a full set of level 10 artifacts.
On top of the new servers Mythic also announced "The Island". Movie title monkey-business aside this fixes another issue I had with DAoC's New Frontiers mini-expansion. There was no longer an area to frequent for reliable RvR action... leaving tower camping power groups and stealth wars as your soul enjoyment.
So this leads me to ponder a return. A new account... a new life in DAoC. Stay tuned.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Blizzard, master of the bait'n'switch?
A great thread over at Dizzarian.com has been going for a couple days now debating whether or not Blizzard is the new master of the bait'n'switch with World of Warcraft (WoW).
The thread started from a post I had made on this blog about WoW's casual gameplay vs. its end game level 60 hardcore only content.
Good read and feel free to contribute. No highlights needed, as the whole thread is good.
Read up.
Update: 11 May, 2009 - Edited post. Removed broken link (the thread is lost 4ever).
The thread started from a post I had made on this blog about WoW's casual gameplay vs. its end game level 60 hardcore only content.
Good read and feel free to contribute. No highlights needed, as the whole thread is good.
Read up.
Update: 11 May, 2009 - Edited post. Removed broken link (the thread is lost 4ever).
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
July 26, 2005 Required Reading
I am going to start posting required reading; or article and news tidbits I feel are required reading for the Heartless_ Gamers out there.
Starting it out is this Gamedev.net in depth look into MMO development.
Read it. Love it. Comment on it.
Update: 11 May, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.
Starting it out is this Gamedev.net in depth look into MMO development.
Read it. Love it. Comment on it.
Update: 11 May, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
The problem with engineering...
Can't log into WoW at the moment... won't bring up my realm of Azgalor. So I did some we surfing. Found this little tidbit about engineering in an online gaming journal.
It is a good read... here are the highlights.
"Basically Engineering cannot be the only Profession that offers "personal power/ability growth". If Engineers gain such growth through Sapper Charges, Mind Control Caps, and Fire Reflectors -- than other Professions must offer similar "personal power/ability growth" that is also restricted and unique to each of those Professions."
-Very true. Engineers get so many gadgets that only they can use... making it in reality the "must have" profession for the serious PvP gamer. It is sad and was pointed out in beta... over and over... and even after the nerfs to beta engineering it is still completely unbalanced against other professions.
"Nerfing is not the answer. It would not solve the problem either, because eventually Engineering items would grow in power for a 3rd time, and we'd bere here for the 3rd time. The solution is to bring other Professions up to par with what Engineering offers to Engineers personally in combat."
-So true... when will MMO developers start trying to fix things instead of just dumbing them down or nerfing them? Sometimes a nerf is a fix... but more often than not its just the easy way out instead of putting actual thought into it.
It is a good read... here are the highlights.
"Basically Engineering cannot be the only Profession that offers "personal power/ability growth". If Engineers gain such growth through Sapper Charges, Mind Control Caps, and Fire Reflectors -- than other Professions must offer similar "personal power/ability growth" that is also restricted and unique to each of those Professions."
-Very true. Engineers get so many gadgets that only they can use... making it in reality the "must have" profession for the serious PvP gamer. It is sad and was pointed out in beta... over and over... and even after the nerfs to beta engineering it is still completely unbalanced against other professions.
"Nerfing is not the answer. It would not solve the problem either, because eventually Engineering items would grow in power for a 3rd time, and we'd bere here for the 3rd time. The solution is to bring other Professions up to par with what Engineering offers to Engineers personally in combat."
-So true... when will MMO developers start trying to fix things instead of just dumbing them down or nerfing them? Sometimes a nerf is a fix... but more often than not its just the easy way out instead of putting actual thought into it.
Friday, July 22, 2005
BF2 Patch 1.03 announced.
Link.
"Server and Client performance improvements
Improved Server Browser – added Favorites and History Lists.
Point-farming prevention - game will stop Support/Medic/Engineer point farming exploits.
Squads - locked squad leader will get a message if someone wants to join.
Many HUD improvements - see the names of others in your vehicle, zoom level changing depending on vehicle, map zoom depending on map setup (16, 32 or 64 player map) etc.
Teamkilling changes – the logic of how teamkills are tracked will be changed.
Gameplay tweaks - the way transport helicopters work will be tweaked.
Additional scoring changes - players who destroy an enemy commander's assets will be given points."
Looks good so far. I am curious to see the exact effect on transport helicopters. Blackhawks are currently way out of line and unbalancing in the gameplay. Also nice to see spec ops getting the points they deserve.
"Server and Client performance improvements
Improved Server Browser – added Favorites and History Lists.
Point-farming prevention - game will stop Support/Medic/Engineer point farming exploits.
Squads - locked squad leader will get a message if someone wants to join.
Many HUD improvements - see the names of others in your vehicle, zoom level changing depending on vehicle, map zoom depending on map setup (16, 32 or 64 player map) etc.
Teamkilling changes – the logic of how teamkills are tracked will be changed.
Gameplay tweaks - the way transport helicopters work will be tweaked.
Additional scoring changes - players who destroy an enemy commander's assets will be given points."
Looks good so far. I am curious to see the exact effect on transport helicopters. Blackhawks are currently way out of line and unbalancing in the gameplay. Also nice to see spec ops getting the points they deserve.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Multiple Choice Test
My addiction to WoW is being sawed off by a rusty hack saw known as...
a. Battlegrounds
b. PvP honor system.
c. Lvl 60 instance grind.
d. All of the above.
If you get it wrong... do not pass go and do not collect 200 dollars.
Update: 14 Sept, 06 - Reviewed, labeled, and edited.
a. Battlegrounds
b. PvP honor system.
c. Lvl 60 instance grind.
d. All of the above.
If you get it wrong... do not pass go and do not collect 200 dollars.
Update: 14 Sept, 06 - Reviewed, labeled, and edited.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Ahhhh the memories...
Browsing the net I ran into a write up on the history of the Atlantic shard in UO... which I played on faithfully for over two years.
Link.
Enjoy the read... UO was truly a great game once.
Link.
Enjoy the read... UO was truly a great game once.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
BF2 has me hooked
And I'm not stopping anytime soon. I have played WoW only for a few battleground runs in the last few days. In the same time I have logged nearly 30 hours of BF2 and it has me hooked... hooked hard.
It is a great game when played with friends. The ranks and stat tracking by the game is so far excellent.... aside from the "stat padders" who have their own ranked servers to exploit on. EA/Dice seem to be 100% commited to remove these exploited scores from the ladders and ban the user's account. Good to see.
BF2 is still not a perfect game and still needs a few patches to get it right. It seems all the time was spent making the game look awesome and then at the last minute a server browser and squad manager were thrown in without any functionality.
I love this game.
Check up on me and how I am doing.... my stats can be found here.
It is a great game when played with friends. The ranks and stat tracking by the game is so far excellent.... aside from the "stat padders" who have their own ranked servers to exploit on. EA/Dice seem to be 100% commited to remove these exploited scores from the ladders and ban the user's account. Good to see.
BF2 is still not a perfect game and still needs a few patches to get it right. It seems all the time was spent making the game look awesome and then at the last minute a server browser and squad manager were thrown in without any functionality.
I love this game.
Check up on me and how I am doing.... my stats can be found here.
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