Battlefield 3's recommended PC specs are below:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
RAM: 4GB
Graphics card: DirectX 11 Nvidia or AMD ATI card, Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 or ATI Radeon 6950.
Graphics card memory: 1 GB
Sound card: DirectX compatibl sound card
Hard drive: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Steve Jobs and the League of Legends
I'll make no bones about it: I didn't like Steve Jobs. There has been and are far more influential people in the tech industry that will never receive the amount of attention that Steve Jobs has garnered. However, most of all I dislike Steve Jobs because he's a lot like me (give our take a billion or so dollars) and I know I'd dislike me if I wasn't me.
Steve Jobs' greatest achievement was giving people what they needed instead of what they wanted. He literally had no technical breakthroughs with any of the things he was involved with. He simply ignored everything customers and critics ever leveled against him and forged ahead with his vision. For him it worked because he controlled the vision; viciously.
The Steve Jobs approach. The giving communities of people what they need instead of what they want. This. This is still a very valid and increasingly needed approach to all products. Actually, its an excellent barometer to use when comparing forces in other markets.
The more I become involved in the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) community, through playing League of Legends, the more I like to look at what has happened in the (MOBA) market and what is coming up. What I see reminds me a lot of the Steve Jobs Apple.
The three big players in the MOBA mareket are: DOTA (the original Warcraft III mod), League of Legends (from Riot games), and Heroes of Newerth (from S2). The 500 lb gorilla in the room, currently in beta testing, is DOTA 2 (from Valve).
The current king, by all measurements, is League of Legends (LoL) which boasts 15+ million accounts on its Free 2 Play model. Heroes of Newerth (HoN) in comparison had approximately 400,000 accounts when it was a standalone boxed game, but it recently moved to Free 2 Play model and new player numbers are not available yet (regardless, its still well below LoL's numbers). There is no reliable way to count the number of DOTA players due to the fact it is still a mod, but estimates are over a million players for the original DOTA (again well shy of LoL). Valve's DOTA2 did attract over 500,000 beta requests and goes into full scale testing soon.
LoL is considered a simpler version of DOTA and it's developers, Riot Games, actively support this notion as they designed the game to be easier to learn and have produced a non-DOTA game mode. HoN is a near clone of the original DOTA. DOTA2 is the literal clone of DOTA and is exactly the same game, but with Valve's Source Engine and a focus on more community features.
Even with DOTA2 spinning up and Blizzard threatening with their own official DOTA flavor on the Starcraft 2 engine, LoL is dominating the market. And to me LoL is the Steve Jobs of the MOBA genre. LoL by no means does what it's players want. It does what the players need, whether they know it yet or not.
If you ask LoL players what they want you will inevitably come to the conclusion that LoL players want:
1. Replays
2. Spectator Mode
3. A better game client/launcher
Riot Games has been slow to develop any of these. Not to say they haven't worked on any of these areas, but if you spoke to the LoL faithful you would quickly think that Riot hates their core community. It's practically a crime at this point that LoL doesn't have replays, or spectator mode and that players are still forced in to the Adobe Air game client (FROM HELL!).
Funny thing is, all of these items are things players WANT (seriously, they won't shut up about them), but in no way is it what a MOBA game NEEDS. MOBA games, especially those inspired by DOTA, have a reputation problem. The original DOTA community sucks. It's intolerant of new or bad players. While DOTA offers an incredibly deep and competitive experience, the community continually keeps the vast majority of new players away. Replays, spectator modes, and game clients can not fox that problem. A MOBA game can not be successful on the DOTA model without dealing with the community.
As LoL players screamed for the listed items above, Riot Games focused on other endeavors, one of which is an absolute key to their success: The Tribunal. The Tribunal is a community polcing tool. If a player acts the fool in a game of LoL, players can easily report them for various infractions (most often, verbal abuse). These reports are then later reviewed by players who get to say yay or nay to whether the conduct reported was detrimental to the community. The recommendation of the players is then forwarded to Riot Games who makes a final call on the punishment. More times than not if a random selection of players votes that someone was being a jerk, Riot agrees and warns (or bans) the account.
LoL and Riot Games have taken this to the bank, millions of times over while their competitors (mainly HoN) tried to simply redeliver the DOTA game. To no one's surprise, the bad community vibe followed right along to HoN. Now that HoN is Free 2 Play, its easy to compare the two communities. HoN is terrible. LoL is no picnic all of the time either, but there is satisfaction to be had knowing that fellow players will be judging the retards who can't keep their fingers off the /all chat key. Overall, LoL has far fewer problems because of the Tribunal.
Problem is, LoL players feel cheated because development efforts went into the Tribunal, which most players felt was just a waste of time (after all, we should all just accept terrible communities because there are mute buttons AMIRITE!?!). Players WANTED replays. They wanted LoL, the then second generation of DOTA, to fill in features that DOTA had, but could not capitalize on due to being tied to the Warcraft III engine. Riot put their head in the sand and said NO. They pushed on what they knew was going to make their game a success. They made LoL accessible and policed the 12 year olds (in 30 something old bodies).
This is not a blanket "Riot did everything right statement." Riot has made it's share of mistakes. Riot was right though and delivered to the needs of their players. Players were the DOTA-like game's worst enemy and they essentially fixed it while making LoL accessible. Had they made the game accessible and not fixed the community, the game wouldn't have survived.
Moving forward, DOTA2 is coming down the pipe line. We don't know if it will be Free 2 Play. We don't know what Valve is doing to tackle the community problem. However, we know DOTA2 will have replays. DOTA2 will have spectating. DOTA2 will have a lot of what the players WANT. My concern is that DOTA2 and Valve may not be focusing on what players need. However, Valve has a stubborn history themselves. All one needs to do is look at the history of Steam itself to know Valve knows what players need well before we even know we need it. Let's hope Valve is ahead of the curve with DOTA2.
Steve Jobs' greatest achievement was giving people what they needed instead of what they wanted. He literally had no technical breakthroughs with any of the things he was involved with. He simply ignored everything customers and critics ever leveled against him and forged ahead with his vision. For him it worked because he controlled the vision; viciously.
The Steve Jobs approach. The giving communities of people what they need instead of what they want. This. This is still a very valid and increasingly needed approach to all products. Actually, its an excellent barometer to use when comparing forces in other markets.
The more I become involved in the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) community, through playing League of Legends, the more I like to look at what has happened in the (MOBA) market and what is coming up. What I see reminds me a lot of the Steve Jobs Apple.
The three big players in the MOBA mareket are: DOTA (the original Warcraft III mod), League of Legends (from Riot games), and Heroes of Newerth (from S2). The 500 lb gorilla in the room, currently in beta testing, is DOTA 2 (from Valve).
The current king, by all measurements, is League of Legends (LoL) which boasts 15+ million accounts on its Free 2 Play model. Heroes of Newerth (HoN) in comparison had approximately 400,000 accounts when it was a standalone boxed game, but it recently moved to Free 2 Play model and new player numbers are not available yet (regardless, its still well below LoL's numbers). There is no reliable way to count the number of DOTA players due to the fact it is still a mod, but estimates are over a million players for the original DOTA (again well shy of LoL). Valve's DOTA2 did attract over 500,000 beta requests and goes into full scale testing soon.
LoL is considered a simpler version of DOTA and it's developers, Riot Games, actively support this notion as they designed the game to be easier to learn and have produced a non-DOTA game mode. HoN is a near clone of the original DOTA. DOTA2 is the literal clone of DOTA and is exactly the same game, but with Valve's Source Engine and a focus on more community features.
Even with DOTA2 spinning up and Blizzard threatening with their own official DOTA flavor on the Starcraft 2 engine, LoL is dominating the market. And to me LoL is the Steve Jobs of the MOBA genre. LoL by no means does what it's players want. It does what the players need, whether they know it yet or not.
If you ask LoL players what they want you will inevitably come to the conclusion that LoL players want:
1. Replays
2. Spectator Mode
3. A better game client/launcher
Riot Games has been slow to develop any of these. Not to say they haven't worked on any of these areas, but if you spoke to the LoL faithful you would quickly think that Riot hates their core community. It's practically a crime at this point that LoL doesn't have replays, or spectator mode and that players are still forced in to the Adobe Air game client (FROM HELL!).
Funny thing is, all of these items are things players WANT (seriously, they won't shut up about them), but in no way is it what a MOBA game NEEDS. MOBA games, especially those inspired by DOTA, have a reputation problem. The original DOTA community sucks. It's intolerant of new or bad players. While DOTA offers an incredibly deep and competitive experience, the community continually keeps the vast majority of new players away. Replays, spectator modes, and game clients can not fox that problem. A MOBA game can not be successful on the DOTA model without dealing with the community.
As LoL players screamed for the listed items above, Riot Games focused on other endeavors, one of which is an absolute key to their success: The Tribunal. The Tribunal is a community polcing tool. If a player acts the fool in a game of LoL, players can easily report them for various infractions (most often, verbal abuse). These reports are then later reviewed by players who get to say yay or nay to whether the conduct reported was detrimental to the community. The recommendation of the players is then forwarded to Riot Games who makes a final call on the punishment. More times than not if a random selection of players votes that someone was being a jerk, Riot agrees and warns (or bans) the account.
LoL and Riot Games have taken this to the bank, millions of times over while their competitors (mainly HoN) tried to simply redeliver the DOTA game. To no one's surprise, the bad community vibe followed right along to HoN. Now that HoN is Free 2 Play, its easy to compare the two communities. HoN is terrible. LoL is no picnic all of the time either, but there is satisfaction to be had knowing that fellow players will be judging the retards who can't keep their fingers off the /all chat key. Overall, LoL has far fewer problems because of the Tribunal.
Problem is, LoL players feel cheated because development efforts went into the Tribunal, which most players felt was just a waste of time (after all, we should all just accept terrible communities because there are mute buttons AMIRITE!?!). Players WANTED replays. They wanted LoL, the then second generation of DOTA, to fill in features that DOTA had, but could not capitalize on due to being tied to the Warcraft III engine. Riot put their head in the sand and said NO. They pushed on what they knew was going to make their game a success. They made LoL accessible and policed the 12 year olds (in 30 something old bodies).
This is not a blanket "Riot did everything right statement." Riot has made it's share of mistakes. Riot was right though and delivered to the needs of their players. Players were the DOTA-like game's worst enemy and they essentially fixed it while making LoL accessible. Had they made the game accessible and not fixed the community, the game wouldn't have survived.
Moving forward, DOTA2 is coming down the pipe line. We don't know if it will be Free 2 Play. We don't know what Valve is doing to tackle the community problem. However, we know DOTA2 will have replays. DOTA2 will have spectating. DOTA2 will have a lot of what the players WANT. My concern is that DOTA2 and Valve may not be focusing on what players need. However, Valve has a stubborn history themselves. All one needs to do is look at the history of Steam itself to know Valve knows what players need well before we even know we need it. Let's hope Valve is ahead of the curve with DOTA2.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hide the kids: World of Warcraft selling GOLD for CASH
Rock, Paper, Shotgun sums this gem up nicely:
Blizzard sells pet for $10
Pet is NOT Bind on Aquire
Players sell Pet in Auction House for X gold
Players are now able to basically buy gold for cash via $10 pet
Why Blizzard just doesn't cut the shennanigans out is beyond me. They need to just shut up and start selling gold and other mictro-transactions and move World of Warcraft to a Free 2 Play model.
The day has come. Pack your children into a suitcase, sell the dog, flee to the countryside and put all your energy into growing giant marrows. The end times are coming. The Great Doom has begun. The last bastion has fallen.The basics are this:
World of Warcraft now allows you, in a roundabout sort of way, to officially swap real money for in-game gold. RUN FOR THE HILLS.
Blizzard sells pet for $10
Pet is NOT Bind on Aquire
Players sell Pet in Auction House for X gold
Players are now able to basically buy gold for cash via $10 pet
Why Blizzard just doesn't cut the shennanigans out is beyond me. They need to just shut up and start selling gold and other mictro-transactions and move World of Warcraft to a Free 2 Play model.
Monday, September 26, 2011
League of Legends: Dominion is LIVE
League of Legends: Dominion is now live. Go!
Summoners!Video for the unattenuated:
The moment that you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! Today, you’ll step onto the battlefield to face off against your opponents on the Crystal Scar! Get ready to capture, defend and dominate your enemies in this brand new game mode for League of Legends!
We promised to deliver the unexpected in 2011, and today we make good on that claim.
Nearly a year in the making, League of Legends: Dominion represents the largest and most ambitious update to League of Legends since its launch in October of 2009. In Dominion, summoners do battle on a brand new map, the Crystal Scar, and vie for control over five Capture Points, a style of play never before attempted in the League of Legends universe.
League of Legends: Dominion is the latest example of our ongoing commitment to bringing you the best of the MOBA genre in new and innovative ways. You’ve been requesting new battlefields upon which to test your skills, and today you’ll do battle not only on a brand new Field of Justice, but in an entirely new and groundbreaking game mode!
Prepare yourselves, summoners! The battle for the Crystal Scar has officially begun!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Combining passions: Green Bay Packer Highlights and Star Fox
Video speaks for itself. Its my own personal nerdgasm.
Friday, September 02, 2011
It's MOBA, not ARTS
MOBA - Multiplayer Online Battle Arena
ARTS - Action Real Time Strategy
It annoys me, greatly, that games such as League of Legends (LoL) and DOTA2 are referred to as ARTS. The term action does NOT fit with the term strategy. Strategy infers some form of logistical component to the gameplay. None of aforementioned games feature any form of logistical management. They very much focus on the action, aka tactical, gameplay elements.
MOBA, on the other hand, describes the games perfectly. They are multiplayer games that feature battles in arena-style maps. Sure, the DOTA model has lanes, creeps, and towers, but don't be fooled. DOTA is still about killing the other team. DOTA just adds objective-based gameplay into the arena (and objective-based gameplay long ago took over straight up death match).
So next time you are out at the pub talking up the latest dime-a-dozen MOBA coming down the line, please remember this post.
ARTS - Action Real Time Strategy
It annoys me, greatly, that games such as League of Legends (LoL) and DOTA2 are referred to as ARTS. The term action does NOT fit with the term strategy. Strategy infers some form of logistical component to the gameplay. None of aforementioned games feature any form of logistical management. They very much focus on the action, aka tactical, gameplay elements.
MOBA, on the other hand, describes the games perfectly. They are multiplayer games that feature battles in arena-style maps. Sure, the DOTA model has lanes, creeps, and towers, but don't be fooled. DOTA is still about killing the other team. DOTA just adds objective-based gameplay into the arena (and objective-based gameplay long ago took over straight up death match).
So next time you are out at the pub talking up the latest dime-a-dozen MOBA coming down the line, please remember this post.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Star Wars: The Old Republic Won't Require Origin
News today via a post on the Star Wars: The Old Republic
forums that SW:ToR will NOT require Origin.
That's good news for anyone planning on playing the game.
That's bad news for EA that they can't even get their flagship title to promote their system, but at the end of the day maybe not losing sales is a better prospect.
That still means no SW:ToR on Steam (or any other digital distribution system other than Origin).
forums that SW:ToR will NOT require Origin.That's good news for anyone planning on playing the game.
That's bad news for EA that they can't even get their flagship title to promote their system, but at the end of the day maybe not losing sales is a better prospect.
That still means no SW:ToR on Steam (or any other digital distribution system other than Origin).
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wildstar More Interesting Than Star Wars: The Old Republic, both still have boring videos
Wildstar was announced at Gamescom this week. Today an eight minute gameplay video was released and IT WAS BORING. But don't let me make that decision for you, watch the video below.
I was brought this video by this post on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (RPS). The first comment fits directly in with my thoughts and even though Wildstar's footage was boring, it was not nearly as boring as the SW:ToR footage we saw from Gamescom.
To back up my thoughts, the one and only RPS regular, Jim Rossignol, chimed in the same idea.
Screenshot for context/posterity.
I was brought this video by this post on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (RPS). The first comment fits directly in with my thoughts and even though Wildstar's footage was boring, it was not nearly as boring as the SW:ToR footage we saw from Gamescom.
RF says: 08/19/2011 at 17:20
Looks like a pretty traditional MMO with some next gen elements.
Like dodging.
And making bear men explode.
Yeah, I think I’ll be getting this. This game is what SW:TOR wants to be but is not.
To back up my thoughts, the one and only RPS regular, Jim Rossignol, chimed in the same idea.
Jim Rossignol says: 08/19/2011 at 17:28
I am more interested in this than SW:TOR.
Screenshot for context/posterity.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Bioware: This Video is BORING
Bioware needs to step up their game with Star Wars: The Old Republic. The below video is the most recent propaganda from GamesCON and its absolutely boring. Is this really the advertising they want for the game? We saw a group of players run up to static groups of NPCs, STAND ABSOLUTELY STILL, while the healer healed, the DPS did damage, and the tank tanked. Epic combat? Action? Where the hell is it Bioware. I fell asleep watching this video.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Warhammer Online going MOBA
Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes was just announced at GamesCON. It is a 6v6v6 multi-player online battle arena game (MOBA). Oh and its free to play (F2P).
This has me mildly interested, mostly because its F2P. I enjoyed Warhammer Online for what it was: a RvR game. I didn't enjoy Warhammer Online for what it could have been: an instance-heavy RvR game that was consistent with it's path from start to finish. Unfortunately WAR split it's focus and by the time launch rolled around, it was a bucket full of holes that held water for only so long before being drained.
Wrath of Heroes extracts the RvR and compacts it into an action-oriented mash up. It is a play for the MOBA market that League of Legends currently dominates and that DOTA2 is currently doing a money grab for. Fortunately, there is plenty of demand and I cannot fault Mythic/EA for putting their foot into the door.
I will give it a try when it comes out or if I get invited to Beta. That is unless it requires Origin. Not really interested in getting involved with yet another digital distribution platform. Sign up for beta on their site.
This has me mildly interested, mostly because its F2P. I enjoyed Warhammer Online for what it was: a RvR game. I didn't enjoy Warhammer Online for what it could have been: an instance-heavy RvR game that was consistent with it's path from start to finish. Unfortunately WAR split it's focus and by the time launch rolled around, it was a bucket full of holes that held water for only so long before being drained.
I will give it a try when it comes out or if I get invited to Beta. That is unless it requires Origin. Not really interested in getting involved with yet another digital distribution platform. Sign up for beta on their site.
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