One Paragraph To Describe Aion

I found this over at Massively:

Aion is the vanilla of MMOs. It does things right but it doesn't do them spectacularly. It targets everyone, but it simultaneously targets no one. It doesn't take risks. It's fun, but it's not endearing or memorable. It simply is.

With all of the launch day hype and coverage flooding in, this single paragraph describes almost all of it. Aion is the ! to the Diku-inspired sentence that Diku MUDs started, EQ brought to paper, and WoW wrote. The model can not be improved any further. New Diku MMOGs are all about polish and execution.

This game is solid. Period. If games could be graded on polish and polish alone, then Aion is one of the most polished games I've come across in a while

Of course they did have a year-long headstart on polish with the Korean launch.

This is, of course, due to the fact that Aion has had a year to work all of these problems out in Korea, and the fact that NCsoft's localization teams have been so absolutely thorough with the game.

Ok, I lied. Three paragraphs to describe Aion. None of them talking about server queues!

Scribblenauts Is Here! Scribblenauts Is Here! Scribblenauts Is Here! Scribblenauts Is Here!

Ok, Scribblenauts has been out for a little bit now and I still haven't gotten a chance to buy a copy. However, I wanted to throw a post up to let everyone that hasn't heard of this little gem of game that it is now out and about.

Ars Technica has their review up:

Scribblenauts was the darling of E3, rounding up a hojillion awards—including a Golden Ars—and impressing everyone who stopped by for a demo. It was a game that showed very well, especially with a developer on hand to point out any number of interesting situations. The premise is simple, although it hides an abyssal depth: you are asked to either reach a star, or to fulfill the requirements to earn one. The tools at your disposal? The world.

You can type in or write any word you can think of, and get that item or person to help you in your quest. No dirty words, and no proper nouns, nothing copyrighted—but even without those limitations, you're looking at tens of thousands of items. Type in "pirate" to fight a ninja. Type in "bridge" to cross an expanse, or type in "motorcycle" and "ramp" and jump it. You gain currency by using fewer items, and also by using creative solutions, and you use that currency to unlock new worlds.

There are two types of levels: action levels where you simply have to get to the starite item, using your reflexes as well as your wits; and puzzle, where you are given a one-sentence instruction about what to do. It may say "get rid of the rats," and in that sentence are dozens of possibilities. In fact, you only completely clear out a level by finishing it three times, without using any item more than once. Much harder than it sounds.

I'm working on getting my copy still (hopefully before the weekend). Chances are I will hate the game since I'm hyping it up, but that's life.

Aion Launches, Has Server Queues

Aion has launched in North America. No, I am not playing and have no plans of playing.

Aion has really long server queues. Anyone that believed that a new, AAA MMOG could launch in this day and age without server queues is ignorant, blind, or just a flat-out newb.

Enjoy waiting in line.

Fixed: Punkbuster Error "Disallowed Program/Driver 125120"

This is a quick how-to on fixing the Punkbuster error "Disallowed Program/Driver 125120".

1. Disable all screen overlay features in any running programs.
2. If all screen overlay features are disabled and the problem persists, exit each program with a screen overlay and try again.
3. If FRAPS is installed, exit FRAPS and try again.

If you want the long-winded WHY of this little bug, keep on reading.

This was annoying to track down, as all things Punkbuster are, simply because Even Balance (the developers behind PB) refuse to SHARE with the community what their error codes mean or what may be causing them to kick non-cheating players.

Getting kicked by Punkbuster for "Disallowed Program/Driver 125120" simply means that a program or driver on the computer is trying to overlay something on the game-screen in a way PB does not like. This is a common way for hacks to hook into a game. Instead of interacting with the game, they sit on top of it with an overlay. This has been a common form of hack for years.

Unfortunately, Punkbuster recently made aggressive changes to how they view overlays and thus many programs that legitimately use them are now being seen as potential hacks by Punkbuster. Programs such as FRAPS and EVGA Precision.

Now, FRAPS in particular is having special difficulties. Older versions are flat-out interpreted as hacks by Punkbuster now and running any old FRAPS versions will get a player kicked repeatedly for "Disallowed Program/Driver 125120". Disabling the FRAPS overlay will not work. FRAPS must be shut down anytime a Punkbuster game is running. The FRAPS developer attempted to fix this problem in the current FRAPS version, but as quickly as they did, Even Balance changed Punkbuster to continue the kicking. So, its a tug-o-war between FRAPS and Punkbuster and I don't see FRAPS winning.

Other programs, such as EVGA Precision are in much better shape. Simply disabling the screen overlay features (such as GPU temperature) will fix the issue. This is most likely true for any number of overlay features in many video card manufacturer's software management/monitoring programs.

Unfortunately, for dedicated players of games like Call of Duty 4 or America's Army 3, this means the loss of some great software tools. Fuck Punkbuster. Once upon a time they were decent, but they've become the porta-potty of the anti-cheat world. No one wants to use them, they stink like shit, but unfortunately its the only option.

Hickman Explains WAR's Mistakes

In a lengthy article over at Gamasutra, Jeff Hickman explains what he feels are the three downfalls of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

Warhammer's Three Major Mistakes

Despite having a successful MMO in the form of Dark Age of Camelot, Hickman says there were "mistakes we made with Warhammer that we should not have made." He described them as "three things have haunted us for a year with Warhammer," and later acknowledged a lot of effort has been put into dealing with them in patches -- sometimes subtly, as they're fundamental and systemic.

It breaks down to:

1. The game was too easy early on.
2. Since the game was easy, people didn't need to work together and therefore didn't socialize or build communities.
3. The economy of the game was way off.

I will agree with 1 and 3, but I wouldn't lay too much of the game's downfall on those two alone. I think 2 was caused more by how horribly inconsistent the game was instead of the game being too easy. 2 is the symptom, not the cause.

WAR had pockets of greatness, and the article addresses some of the GOOD things about WAR, but overall, those pockets of greatness were not connected in any sensible way. That is why socialization never took off in the game. Nothing ever felt like it was meant to work together. WAR, for the most part, was a series of different games patched together.

I'm done wasting my energy on WAR. The game, at level 40, was laughably bad before I quit. I may return in the future to see what they've done and I'm glad their admitting in public that mistakes were made. I'm very glad they didn't try to blame Wrath of the Lich King again.

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.

Another Free UT3 Black Weekend

Epic and Steam are at it again, offering a free weekend of play for Unreal Tournament 3 Black.

Play Unreal Tournament 3 FREE this weekend! Visit the UT3 game page to start pre-loading and be ready to play as soon as it starts Thursday at 1:00PM PDT (8:00PM GMT).

For anyone interested, start the pre-load now, its a fairly large download.

DDO: My 28 pt, Newbie Class Build Choices!

I have decided on two Class Builds I want to try in DDO. I've pulled both from this great thread on the DDO forums. In the end, I didn't want to be tied down to a melee character. I wanted some flavor and decided I will play two toons: one melee and one spellcaster. I decided to avoid multi-classing and stuck with two pure builds.

Melee: The Backstab Fighter (Halfling Fighter)

Backstab Fighter
Level 20 Chaotic Good Halfling Male
(20 Fighter)
Hit Points: 322
Spell Points: 0
BAB: 20\20\25\30\30
Fortitude: 16
Reflex: 16
Will: 11

Starting Base Stats
Abilities (Level 1)
=======================
Strength 16
Dexterity 16
Constitution 14
Intelligence 8
Wisdom 8
Charisma 8

Spellcaster: The Generalist (Human Sorcerer)

Generalist
Level 16 True Neutral Human Male
(16 Sorcerer)
Hit Points: 170
Spell Points: 1610
BAB: 8\8\13
Fortitude: 8
Reflex: 4
Will: 9

Starting Base Stats
Abilities (Level 1)
=======================
Strength 10
Dexterity 8
Constitution 16
Intelligence 8
Wisdom 8
Charisma 18

Now all I need to do is figure out a unique name that is NOT taken already! All of my standbys are taken. Damn newbs!

DDO: Class recommendation for a new player?

With the discussion around DDO character builds still swirling, I figured I would ask for input from the general audience about what character I should play? I don't want to waste any time messing with building one myself, so I am sort of looking for a complete 28-point build.

I am a D&D veteran and can understand most of the slang. My current preference in play-style hovers more towards melee classes. I don't need to be top DPS, but DPS is still important. I'd rather have more utility than just outputting DPS. I would like to try avoid Cleric builds, but I am open to anything currently.

Comment away!

Dungeons and Dragons Online's Pay Wall: 32 Point Builds

Update: Here are the new-player builds, which are attainable with 28 base stat points.

A character planner tool is available here.

Read below for my bitching:

I have been playing the Free-to-Play (F2P) version of Dungeons and Dragons online for an hour this morning and I've come across a potential deal breaker: 32 point builds. As with any game I venture into, I look for guides and general information on the forums.

For DDO, I came across a great Character Builds forum, but could not figure out HOW to make any of the builds actually listed. All of them included four extra stat points that I did not seem to have access to in the character creator.

Long story short, players have to play with a throw away character, grind to 1750 Favor, and then re-roll a character that then gets 32 (instead of 28) base stat points to allocate. At first, I thought this was a limitation of the F2P model, but I quickly found out its a "feature". Yes, there is a "feature" in DDO that makes a player's first character something they will have to stop playing in order to re-roll a character with sufficient end-game stat points.

To add insult to this injury, Turbine's potential solution is to add the 32 points as a purchasable item in their cash shop.

At this time you still have to earn enough favor to unlock a 32 point build, however we are definitely discussing adding them in the store in the future.

Looking at the forums, this would be a huge hit with players. However, this absolutely disgusts me. Buying races and classes is fine, but paying for what SHOULD BE basic class building features is a game-killer.

However, the wound wasn't deep enough as Turbine pours salt in by forcing players to buy adventure packs to unlock enough quests which will allow a player to achieve enough favor to get the 32 base stat points. Guess what, DDO has a pay wall.

This may be a day one deal breaker for me. I don't want to waste my time on a character that is instantly perceived as weaker than the other players around him. I don't care what the counter-argument is. Bob gets 32. I get 28. That's four points I'm not getting for a character I am going to have to stop using once I've unlocked the next four points.

With all of this said, maybe I am over-reacting, as I've not invested enough time into figuring out the system and what is involved. There is still a bad taste in my mouth and I'm wasting time researching instead of playing.

Here's a tip for Turbine: F2P games fail because they become too fucking confusing.