A while ago I made up my mind that I would not participate in Pirates of the Burning Seas (PotBS), even though I did attempt to try the trial a few weeks ago (without success). At first, I tried to play it off as lack of time leading towards a lack of interest in the game. I completely ruled out the SOE publishing deal as reasoning behind my decision.
I have to admit though, that the SOE publishing deal did sour me on the game as a whole. Looking back, it wasn't really the fact that it was SOE, more than it was the fact that Flying Labs suddenly looked desperate to get this game out the door. Flying Lab was great during the entire development period, always sharing insight into design decisions and never short on previews.
At some point along the line, a decision was made to include avatar combat as a major part of the game. This fell in line with Flying Lab's decision to delay the game, not just for avatar combat, but for a publishing deal as well. This all leads to where PotBS sits today: a sinking ship.
The short story of what is wrong with PotBS can be seen at the previous link, but in the interest of summary here: avatar combat sucks, content is cut'n'paste between nations, and PvP is a negative-sum situation all around. Personally, that is about what I guessed before the game launched. Every preview for avatar combat looked bland, and the explanations behind it sounded dry.
While SOE may get off the hook for this sinking ship, another in their huge pile of sinking ships, I can't help but believe that the delays related to publishing PotBS directly lead to bad design decisions by Flying Labs to include avatar combat, essentially taking away resources from polishing the main features of the game: ship combat and the player economy.
I sit here and believe I made a Good Call in not devoting my time to PotBS. The MMO industry is tough, and getting tougher. More gamers are in the market, but it doesn't seem like any title outside of World of Warcraft can keep them coming in and more importantly, keep them playing.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
CCP = Epic Fail
Not much to say here: Eve Online Client Source Code Leaked.
Full source code for the client for popular MMORPG Eve Online was made available recently via BitTorrent on The Pirate Bay. Along with the torrent, the user posts a chat transcript with a representative identified as [IA]Morpheus from Eve’s developer and publisher CCP. In the lengthy and scatological exchange, the poster of the source code attempts to get some answers about CCP’s much maligned security practices, particularly concerning the rife issue of bots and scripting in their flagship game. The conversation was a little less than professional.I'm sure that player government-thing will get right on this one.
Beta Leaks
There is a certain website that has sprung up recently dedicated to anything and everything that is beta leaking for MMOs. The site features NDA-breaking leaks for Age of Conan, Warhammer Online, and other titles. The main focus of the site is finding "beta leakers" and allowing them to post "beta leaks".
Being a MMO blogger, I appreciate "insider information", so I assumed this beta leaking website would be of value. I truly wanted some juicy information to confirm my worst fears or better, solid information to base my opinion on. Unfortunately, the site isn't about beta leaks and most of the "beta leakers" could be mistaken for misplaced third graders.
What I've found is a Special Ed class in "I don't have a fucking clue about MMOs, but I'm in a beta for one!". The forums for this website are littered with "OMGz this is overpowered", "the graphics suck", and worst of all, "its not like WoW!!!" postings. Someone would have to work really hard to discern any "leaked information" from these rants about games that are still in beta. It would be so easy to just reply a thousand times over "its still beta, how the FUCK can you make any determinations when you are only testing the first few levels of content?".
It really depresses me that these oxygen thieves were given beta slots in the first place. I do get a good laugh though, as about every other day, a "beta leaker" posts their "I got banned" post because they posted a screen shot or video displaying their character's name. At least we know someone is watching closely.
But even worse than the leakers, are the clowns that show up and post in response.
They confuse "beta leaking forum posts" as "this is how the game will be on launch day", and make all kinds of wild assumptions. Some even go so far as to start breaking down numbers, without even having a fraction-of-a-decimal-point of information to base their claims on.
Reading the posts, a casual reader could easily confuse the conversation about beta information, for information about a game that has been around for five years.
Yes, I do still check the website occasionally to see what has been posted, but I doubt I'll keep it up much longer. I don't feel like wasting any more time reading two page posts about some idiot who got into a beta last week, played for a few hours, and absolutely hates the game now. I can get that from normal forums.
Being a MMO blogger, I appreciate "insider information", so I assumed this beta leaking website would be of value. I truly wanted some juicy information to confirm my worst fears or better, solid information to base my opinion on. Unfortunately, the site isn't about beta leaks and most of the "beta leakers" could be mistaken for misplaced third graders.
What I've found is a Special Ed class in "I don't have a fucking clue about MMOs, but I'm in a beta for one!". The forums for this website are littered with "OMGz this is overpowered", "the graphics suck", and worst of all, "its not like WoW!!!" postings. Someone would have to work really hard to discern any "leaked information" from these rants about games that are still in beta. It would be so easy to just reply a thousand times over "its still beta, how the FUCK can you make any determinations when you are only testing the first few levels of content?".
It really depresses me that these oxygen thieves were given beta slots in the first place. I do get a good laugh though, as about every other day, a "beta leaker" posts their "I got banned" post because they posted a screen shot or video displaying their character's name. At least we know someone is watching closely.
But even worse than the leakers, are the clowns that show up and post in response.
They confuse "beta leaking forum posts" as "this is how the game will be on launch day", and make all kinds of wild assumptions. Some even go so far as to start breaking down numbers, without even having a fraction-of-a-decimal-point of information to base their claims on.
Reading the posts, a casual reader could easily confuse the conversation about beta information, for information about a game that has been around for five years.
Yes, I do still check the website occasionally to see what has been posted, but I doubt I'll keep it up much longer. I don't feel like wasting any more time reading two page posts about some idiot who got into a beta last week, played for a few hours, and absolutely hates the game now. I can get that from normal forums.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Update-adin
One of the coolest parts of playing a Blood Elf Paladin in World of Warcraft is the nickname, Belfadin. Since starting my Belfadin I've received a few different tells asking me how I liked my Belfadin. One from a new player that was watching me destroy Silver Pine forest and one from a friend. My response: "I love my Belfadin."
My Belfadin is now a ripe level of 24. I know, absolutely burning through the levels. One of the most satisfying parts of playing a Paladin is the fact that it is really tough to die. A player literally has to give up control and go AFK for a Paladin to die. The only times I've died are in situations where I was really pushing my luck, like attempting to solo a level 20 elite at level 19 or attempting to ninja mushrooms in front of level 27+ NPCs at level 22.
The "oh shit" buttons built into the class are insane and really let a paladin test the waters of any situation.
Lay on Hands - Instant full heal
Divine Intervention - Invincible for a few seconds, easily able to heal to full
Blessing of Protection - Immune to melee attacks
Blessing of Freedom - Remove any movement impairing effects
Pursuit of Justice - +15% run speed talent, which I like to use in a "stun and run" fashion with Hammer of Justice (stun)
All of this, minus Pursuit of Justice, available to the base class. It really makes me wonder what the hell Blizzard was smoking when they designed Shamans. Originally, Shamans were Horde exclusive and Paladins were Alliance exclusive. It is painfully obvious to me, after just 24 levels, why there has always been more Paladins in the game than Shamans.
With The Burning Crusade, Paladins and Shamans became available to both sides. Paladins quickly trumped the number of active Shamans on the Horde side, while Alliance Shamans remained almost non-existent. The Paladin is just a better designed class, with great features available to players REGARDLESS OF TALENT SPEC!
Paladins are better healers and should Retribution ever get the buff Blizzard has promised, better melee DPS than any Shaman could ever hope to be. Not to mention Paladins can easily spec protection and become a tank, something Shamans will never be able to do. I firmly believe this is because the underlying, base class is far superior to Shamans.
The base of Shamans are Totems and Weapon Buffs, but the best totems and buffs are not available until they are enhanced via mid-to-late level talents. PLUS, to get the REQUIRED +30 yards to range for Totems, Shamans need to spec into the Restoration a little bit. Imagine if Paladin's had to spec into talent trees to unlock any one of the "oh shit" buttons mentioned before AND THEN had to spec into ANOTHER tree to get something like Lay on Hands.
Yes, I am bitter about the way Shamans have been treated by Blizzard. The Totem mechanic has been proven to be flawed since the game launched, but Blizzard has done almost nothing to change the system. Other classes have been completely reworked and overly buffed (Warrior, Warlock), while Shamans have sat idle watching their talent trees and skills get nerfed into mediocrity.
If a flawed Totem system wasn't enough, Shaman weapon buffs have been three quarters useless since the first Shaman dinged 60. To this day, it is Windfury or go home. Sure, Flame Tongue can somewhat compete when a vastly superior, fast OffHand weapon is available instead of a slower one, but in the current WoW, a slow OffHand weapon is not that hard to find. Rockbiter and Frostbrand are NEVER used once Windfury is unlocked and only serve as a filler buff for leveling. Blizzard should just give Windfury at level one to all Shamans, so they get a feel for it before the later levels. It makes no sense to provide a BASIC CLASS MECHANIC that will not follow a class all the way max level.
Shame Blizzard, shame.
My Belfadin is now a ripe level of 24. I know, absolutely burning through the levels. One of the most satisfying parts of playing a Paladin is the fact that it is really tough to die. A player literally has to give up control and go AFK for a Paladin to die. The only times I've died are in situations where I was really pushing my luck, like attempting to solo a level 20 elite at level 19 or attempting to ninja mushrooms in front of level 27+ NPCs at level 22.
The "oh shit" buttons built into the class are insane and really let a paladin test the waters of any situation.
Lay on Hands - Instant full heal
Divine Intervention - Invincible for a few seconds, easily able to heal to full
Blessing of Protection - Immune to melee attacks
Blessing of Freedom - Remove any movement impairing effects
Pursuit of Justice - +15% run speed talent, which I like to use in a "stun and run" fashion with Hammer of Justice (stun)
All of this, minus Pursuit of Justice, available to the base class. It really makes me wonder what the hell Blizzard was smoking when they designed Shamans. Originally, Shamans were Horde exclusive and Paladins were Alliance exclusive. It is painfully obvious to me, after just 24 levels, why there has always been more Paladins in the game than Shamans.
With The Burning Crusade, Paladins and Shamans became available to both sides. Paladins quickly trumped the number of active Shamans on the Horde side, while Alliance Shamans remained almost non-existent. The Paladin is just a better designed class, with great features available to players REGARDLESS OF TALENT SPEC!
Paladins are better healers and should Retribution ever get the buff Blizzard has promised, better melee DPS than any Shaman could ever hope to be. Not to mention Paladins can easily spec protection and become a tank, something Shamans will never be able to do. I firmly believe this is because the underlying, base class is far superior to Shamans.
The base of Shamans are Totems and Weapon Buffs, but the best totems and buffs are not available until they are enhanced via mid-to-late level talents. PLUS, to get the REQUIRED +30 yards to range for Totems, Shamans need to spec into the Restoration a little bit. Imagine if Paladin's had to spec into talent trees to unlock any one of the "oh shit" buttons mentioned before AND THEN had to spec into ANOTHER tree to get something like Lay on Hands.
Yes, I am bitter about the way Shamans have been treated by Blizzard. The Totem mechanic has been proven to be flawed since the game launched, but Blizzard has done almost nothing to change the system. Other classes have been completely reworked and overly buffed (Warrior, Warlock), while Shamans have sat idle watching their talent trees and skills get nerfed into mediocrity.
If a flawed Totem system wasn't enough, Shaman weapon buffs have been three quarters useless since the first Shaman dinged 60. To this day, it is Windfury or go home. Sure, Flame Tongue can somewhat compete when a vastly superior, fast OffHand weapon is available instead of a slower one, but in the current WoW, a slow OffHand weapon is not that hard to find. Rockbiter and Frostbrand are NEVER used once Windfury is unlocked and only serve as a filler buff for leveling. Blizzard should just give Windfury at level one to all Shamans, so they get a feel for it before the later levels. It makes no sense to provide a BASIC CLASS MECHANIC that will not follow a class all the way max level.
Shame Blizzard, shame.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Operation Paladin?
I am tired of my Shaman. That is a bit saddening as I've worked really hard to get his PvP gear and if I abandon him now I'll have barely enjoyed instant-ghost wolf, something I've wanted for my Shaman since 2004.
However, it is apparent to me that Blizzard doesn't give a damn about the class, aside from making sure that Shaman's Restoration talent tree is buffed enough to provide another viable healer class.
If I don't respec Restoration I'll probably never get the Badges of Justice needed to get some new gear.
Since I refuse to do arenas, I'll probably never upgrade my current PvP gear from what is available for purchase via Honor.
Lastly, I don't want to farm 2.5k more gold for my epic flying mount, just so I can farm mining nodes. I'd probably be a bit more motivated if I could somehow rain terror down upon Stormwind from an epic flying mount, but I can't so I won't be farming gold any time soon.
Which brings me to my new project: Operation Paladin. At first I was going to redo my warrior, because they melt face in PvP and tanks are always in demand. Yes, it would take some talent juggling, but it would be worth it unlike respeccing Resotration as a Shaman to try and get better DPS gear that still won't mean jack crap for my Enhance DPS build.
But then I did some thinking and figured a Paladin might be more enjoyable. Why? Because Belfadin is a cool nickname for Horde Paladins. Also, I've never enjoyed the level 1-20 Blood Elf content and I figured it's about time I do so.
Plus, Protection Paladins own face in PvE and hold their own in PvP. Mostly, they don't die in three seconds and at some point I fully intend to perform the fabled Bubble Hearth. Actually, that will probably be the first PvP activity I participate in with my Belf-protadin.
However, it is apparent to me that Blizzard doesn't give a damn about the class, aside from making sure that Shaman's Restoration talent tree is buffed enough to provide another viable healer class.
If I don't respec Restoration I'll probably never get the Badges of Justice needed to get some new gear.
Since I refuse to do arenas, I'll probably never upgrade my current PvP gear from what is available for purchase via Honor.
Lastly, I don't want to farm 2.5k more gold for my epic flying mount, just so I can farm mining nodes. I'd probably be a bit more motivated if I could somehow rain terror down upon Stormwind from an epic flying mount, but I can't so I won't be farming gold any time soon.
Which brings me to my new project: Operation Paladin. At first I was going to redo my warrior, because they melt face in PvP and tanks are always in demand. Yes, it would take some talent juggling, but it would be worth it unlike respeccing Resotration as a Shaman to try and get better DPS gear that still won't mean jack crap for my Enhance DPS build.
But then I did some thinking and figured a Paladin might be more enjoyable. Why? Because Belfadin is a cool nickname for Horde Paladins. Also, I've never enjoyed the level 1-20 Blood Elf content and I figured it's about time I do so.
Plus, Protection Paladins own face in PvE and hold their own in PvP. Mostly, they don't die in three seconds and at some point I fully intend to perform the fabled Bubble Hearth. Actually, that will probably be the first PvP activity I participate in with my Belf-protadin.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Warhammer Online Delayed: Picking Sides
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) has been delayed yet again. Now, for most MMORPGs, the vapourware police would be bouncing off the walls right about now. Fortunately, that isn't the case here. Unfortunately, the "WAR will suck" haters have taken their place. I don't care. I'm dead set on playing WAR, whether it is complete trash or not, and damn the players breaking the NDA (I will post about them soon enough).
With that said, I want to take some time to talk about picking sides in WAR. Literally, what side are you going to play? Destruction or Order? Race? Class?
I've struggled with this decision since I started looking into WAR. Having played a fair bit on the "evil side" for the last few MMORPGs, I figured I would just fall in line with Destruction (Greenskins, Chaos, and Dark Elves). However, I didn't want to constrain myself. I sat down and thought about what would be important to me in choosing a side.
Overwhelmingly, visual style WILL play a huge role in my choice of sides for WAR.
In Dark Ages of Camelot, I rolled Midgard with my guild. Ironically, I caught myself staring at Albion's buildings, cities, and castles. They had working doors! Also, I found myself envious of the fairly human looking races offered on the Albion side, especially considering that my Kobold Runemaster was blue and furry. To me, Albions looked the part of Epic Fantasy Hero, plate armor and sword at hand, but most importantly human.
Then, I started as a Troll Shaman of the Horde in World of Warcraft to roll with a new guild and there I have remained ever since. Aside from Thunder Bluff, the Tauren's home, there wasn't a single visual aspect of the Horde that I enjoy. The races are ugly, the main cities are depressingly drab, and not until The Burning Crusade launched, and with it Silvermoon City, did the Horde even know colors other than brown and rust existed.
Moving back to my topic, picking a side for WAR, visual style will guide me more than any other aspect. Screw class and population balance, they will be sorted out regardless of the side I choose. If a side has a class and race combo that interests me with the visual intrigue I am looking for, I am taking it.
So far, that looks like the Empire, the relative good guys of WAR. They have a very old-world European look to their world. Plus, they are humans and not since Ultima Online have I played something with a normal skin tone.
I completely accept that as the "human" faction, the Empire will attract a lot of newbs, because the human sides in MMOs usually do for some reason. I don't care, WAR is going to be about FUN for me and FUN starts with what I'm looking at as I play the game. So far, the Empire screen shots look amazing.
No, I will not be playing a Witch Hunter, probably the most hyped class for WAR.
With that said, I want to take some time to talk about picking sides in WAR. Literally, what side are you going to play? Destruction or Order? Race? Class?
I've struggled with this decision since I started looking into WAR. Having played a fair bit on the "evil side" for the last few MMORPGs, I figured I would just fall in line with Destruction (Greenskins, Chaos, and Dark Elves). However, I didn't want to constrain myself. I sat down and thought about what would be important to me in choosing a side.
Overwhelmingly, visual style WILL play a huge role in my choice of sides for WAR.
In Dark Ages of Camelot, I rolled Midgard with my guild. Ironically, I caught myself staring at Albion's buildings, cities, and castles. They had working doors! Also, I found myself envious of the fairly human looking races offered on the Albion side, especially considering that my Kobold Runemaster was blue and furry. To me, Albions looked the part of Epic Fantasy Hero, plate armor and sword at hand, but most importantly human.
Then, I started as a Troll Shaman of the Horde in World of Warcraft to roll with a new guild and there I have remained ever since. Aside from Thunder Bluff, the Tauren's home, there wasn't a single visual aspect of the Horde that I enjoy. The races are ugly, the main cities are depressingly drab, and not until The Burning Crusade launched, and with it Silvermoon City, did the Horde even know colors other than brown and rust existed.
Moving back to my topic, picking a side for WAR, visual style will guide me more than any other aspect. Screw class and population balance, they will be sorted out regardless of the side I choose. If a side has a class and race combo that interests me with the visual intrigue I am looking for, I am taking it.
So far, that looks like the Empire, the relative good guys of WAR. They have a very old-world European look to their world. Plus, they are humans and not since Ultima Online have I played something with a normal skin tone.
I completely accept that as the "human" faction, the Empire will attract a lot of newbs, because the human sides in MMOs usually do for some reason. I don't care, WAR is going to be about FUN for me and FUN starts with what I'm looking at as I play the game. So far, the Empire screen shots look amazing.
No, I will not be playing a Witch Hunter, probably the most hyped class for WAR.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
World of Warcraft Patch 2.4
Today is the day! Patch 2.4 is on the Blizzard downloader and sometime this afternoon World of Warcraft players around the world will be romping through Sunwell Isle. See the excitement in my typing? See it!?
The basics of the patch for me are: Druid's Cyclone gets nerfed, Shamans get slightly buffed, but Shamans still suck and Cycloning Druids will continue to be crazy-popular in PvP. The status quo remains unchanged.
There will be some new loot to achieve as players cash in Badges of Justice, PvE currency, for PvP rewards. Sorry, there is no way to pay honor, PvP currency, for PvE gear. Blizzard doesn't like PvP to lead to PvE. However, PvE that leads to PvP is awesome in their eyes, because PvE takes like coordination and skillz and stuff. PvP takes no skill, especially for the AFKers and Warlocks.
Yes, I said I was quitting WoW, but I just can't do it. Blizzard is buffing Shamans! Even if it is just a little bit, I've waited too long for instant Ghost Wolf to quit now!!!
The basics of the patch for me are: Druid's Cyclone gets nerfed, Shamans get slightly buffed, but Shamans still suck and Cycloning Druids will continue to be crazy-popular in PvP. The status quo remains unchanged.
There will be some new loot to achieve as players cash in Badges of Justice, PvE currency, for PvP rewards. Sorry, there is no way to pay honor, PvP currency, for PvE gear. Blizzard doesn't like PvP to lead to PvE. However, PvE that leads to PvP is awesome in their eyes, because PvE takes like coordination and skillz and stuff. PvP takes no skill, especially for the AFKers and Warlocks.
Yes, I said I was quitting WoW, but I just can't do it. Blizzard is buffing Shamans! Even if it is just a little bit, I've waited too long for instant Ghost Wolf to quit now!!!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Bad News Bears
It has been hell since I've upgraded my computer. First, a mother board. Now, my video card. My EVGA 7800GTX took a dump on me this morning, and in the interest of time, I had to shop locally to find a replacement. Nothing sucks worse than Spring Break without a PC, not only for gaming, but the mountain of homework I need to catch up on.
Good news is that the local computer store had an MSI 9600 GT for close to $200. So, I picked one up and I'm back online. Now about that homework...
Good news is that the local computer store had an MSI 9600 GT for close to $200. So, I picked one up and I'm back online. Now about that homework...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Shamans Hit Bottom
It's official: of the top 100 Arena Players in World of Warcraft, 0% are now Shamans. I guess it wasn't bad enough that Shamans were the least played class in game.
I hate to quote Arena numbers as much as the next WoW blogger, but I can't help but notice how EVERY CLASS, OTHER THAN SHAMANS, GETS BUFFED TO COMPETE IN ARENAS. I hate the idea that Blizzard is balancing classes based on Arena gameplay, but it is fairly evident that they are leaning that way currently.
Personally, I think WoW is about as lost as it can get in terms of PvP and class balance. I just want to know when it will be my turn, as an Enhancement Shaman, to be on the top of the OP stack. Actually, I would settle for anything other than the bottom.
I hate to quote Arena numbers as much as the next WoW blogger, but I can't help but notice how EVERY CLASS, OTHER THAN SHAMANS, GETS BUFFED TO COMPETE IN ARENAS. I hate the idea that Blizzard is balancing classes based on Arena gameplay, but it is fairly evident that they are leaning that way currently.
Personally, I think WoW is about as lost as it can get in terms of PvP and class balance. I just want to know when it will be my turn, as an Enhancement Shaman, to be on the top of the OP stack. Actually, I would settle for anything other than the bottom.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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