One of the major problems of a game in which you can do anything is that… well, there’s not necessarily much of a reason to do anything. That’s a Terrible Idea recently had an interesting piece on the difficulty of generating goals and objectives in MMOs, especially in contrast with single-player games where your goals are equally pre-generated. The difference, as the article notes, is that single-player games have individual characters with a large impact on the game world. There’s no issue of making quests compatible with a wide variety of characters of different races and classes, until the individual motivations and goals can no longer fit into the equation. You don’t have anything but the end of content to shoot for.

So what’s the answer? The original post notes that it’s not really possible to reconcile anything but achievement-oriented goals within MMOs due to the fact that the character will still inhabit a static world no matter what you do. Certainly, there are attempts to create larger-scale impacts for individual characters, but so long as every character goes through the same content or has the same opportunities, there’s less of a sense of distinct accomplishment. Player-generated content in games such as City of Heroes offers an opportunity for a different path for each character, but there’s still not much of a difference in the actual process. Procedural generation is also bandied about as a solution to the issue, though it lacks any truly successful implementation at this point. Is there even a solution, or is this simply part of the weakness of the genre?

The trouble with goals in MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The update to The Waiting Game revealed that Dhuum will appear once all of the Underworld quests have been completed, and defeating him is now required to “complete” the Underworld. With a skill set including things like “Judgement of Dhuum“, this new addition to the Underworld is most likely the challenge that bored Guild Wars players have been looking for.

Shadow Form continues to be a hot topic, however. Many players expected this to be the thing that put an end to Shadow Form Underworld farming, but one of the earliest reported successes proved that wrong very quickly. Players responded quickly with one commenter summing up many people’s thoughts: “It’s…disappointing that even a God of Unholy Death can’t bypass shadowform…”. (Community Manager Regina Buenaobra stepped in to mention that the goal was new content, not a nerf of SF farming.)

In the meantime, Dhuum seems to be the biggest challenge around in Guild Wars — kudos to ArenaNet for the new content!

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Free-to-play

Guild Wars updates Halloween quest, bringing permanant changes originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A new patch for an MMO is a bit like a present. At best, it can provide a number of new opportunities for fun and enjoyment. At worst, it can break several things you already liked and now have to replace. Aion has recently deployed the new patch 1.5.1 and, as could be expected, fan reaction is somewhat split on whether it’s a nice present or the immortal pairing of socks and underwear. Certainly there isn’t a major content influx, and the often-requested reduction of the game’s grind has yet to be implemented, but there are still a number of nice updates and additions.

Leaving aside the bugfixes and optimization with only a mention that they should help the game play more smoothly all around, several instanced dungeons have been adjusted somewhat. Nearly all of these changes look beneficial to players — reductions in difficulty and increases in reward, as well as added UI displays for important objectives. They’ve also added stealth-detecting NPCs to starter areas and increased several NPC health totals in an effort to curb destructive PvP tendencies. Quest experience at mid-to-high levels has been adjusted upward, rewards have been slightly improved on several quests, and level-difference experience penalties have been reduced. Last but not least, there’s now more incentive to hold a fortress in the Abyss and work to defend it, as rewards are offered for defending players. Aion’s fans aren’t all happy about the changes, but it’s best if you take a look at the changes yourself. Just remember that even if you don’t like it, this present is unreturnable.

Patch 1.5.1 goes live for Aion originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Changes to other capital ship weapons systems like XL Turrets, however, are another matter entirely. They’re discussed at length in a dev blog from CCP Nozh titled “Capital Ships in Dominion” as are the new Citadel Cruise Missile Launchers intended to be a long range weapon system.

Continue reading CCP Games alters plans for EVE’s capital ships in Dominion expansion

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP

CCP Games alters plans for EVE’s capital ships in Dominion expansion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in the day, there were two ways to play most MMOs — you could form a group with other players, or you could stay inside the cities and wait. Those days are long gone, of course, and it’s a rare game that doesn’t allow a player to do quite a bit without the support framework of a group. But there’s a point to be made about what’s been lost in the process, and We Fly Spitfires has an interesting take on how we now have to be pushed and prodded into grouping. There was a time when people were expected to group to complete tasks, but players are increasingly opposed to the idea as more and more becomes possible to solo and we grow less and less patient for finding a group.

Unsurprisingly, Game by Night brings up the obvious counterpoint: that evolving game design has relegated forced grouping to the past. There are more MMO players now than there were back then, and the majority of them started on games such as World of Warcraft or City of Heroes where grouping was only occasionally necessary, and even then only for specific tasks. By removing the requirement, player expectations become different, and there’s no longer a sense from most of the playerbase that soloing should be possible for a majority of tasks. It’s a debate that’s been had over and over through the years, but as the solo play model becomes more and more expansive, it no doubt will be revisted time and again — and attitudes toward it will shift as the playerbase does.

Grouping versus soloing as the genre evolves originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champions Online is still wet behind the ears, but we’re moving through the game’s third month of operation, time enough to take a slightly calmer look at how things went at launch and how the game has been shaping up. Jeux Online recently interviewed executive producer Bill Roper regarding the game’s launch and its future, which might not contain as much information on the latter as the fans would like but still contains some interesting bits and pieces.

Looking forward, the most interesting bits are the promise of an upcoming Lair in which each player’s Nemesis makes an appearance, in a union of several high-level threats to face off against a team of heroes. (Shades of the Masters of Evil or the Legion of Doom.) He also discusses a bit about the upcoming winter event, which he states will not include a new powerset but will include a number of “presents”, as well as a fight against a truly massive opponent. There’s also discussion regarding mission instancing a la City of Heroes, PvP maps, and the ongoing task of balancing Champions Online. How the game will mature in practice is yet to be seen, but we’re getting a clearer and clearer idea about the game’s direction at the very least.

Bill Roper talks about Champions Online successes and failures originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It might be a slight exaggeration to say that everyone in the world is looking forward to Star Wars: the Old Republic… but only slight. With the latest class reveal, the Imperial Agent is poised to give an excellent sneak-and-snipe playstyle to the Sith side of the game. All well and good… but as Kill Ten Rats notes, how is this game going to get any PvP balance? To the best of everyone’s knowledge there’s no equivalent ability in the Smuggler’s arsenal, the Republic’s counterpoint to the Agent, and it’s not much of a matchup when one side is invisible and the other side isn’t.

Overly Positive recently made a few observations regarding the class balance, noting that BioWare seems to be taking an approach a la Warhammer Online — each class has a loose equivalent on the other side, but they don’t result in being direct copies of one another. However, the downside to this approach is that you can easily wind up with one side’s class being overpowered in relation to the other. Direct equivalencies leech some of the flavor, but they ensure that the game remains perfectly balanced for both factions. It’s a question worth considering and keeping an eye on as the game moves through development — after all, if a Jedi and a Sith Warrior can’t face off in fair combat, it’ll be a sad day for many players.

The balance of force in Star Wars: the Old Republic originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The most recent chapter of the game, The Elven Prophecy, was released only a couple of months ago. Since then, over fifteen million quests have been completed (even more staggering when one considers that the game has recently cleared the two million mark for registered players). A quarter of a million bosses have been brought down in that span of time, as well as over sixteen million items crafted. Even allowing that some of those were likely craft grind fodder, those are impressive numbers.

Of course, one of the wonderful parts about any sort of free-to-play game is that any curiosity about the game can be satisfied by playing right away, which has no doubt contributed to the success Runes of Magic has enjoyed thus far. While it’s not the biggest name in the industry, it’s experiencing a groundswell of popularity, good news both for fans of the game and the business model alike.

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Game mechanics, Crafting, Quests, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic

Runes of Magic’s milestone numbers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The discussion ranges from the tangible issues with the upcoming expansion such as class upgrades (each class will get one new skill upgrade at level 62), meta-issues (there will be a Skirmish sneak peek coming soon to let players try the new format), and some wholly random bits (the developers will not add your farm on Facebook as a neighbor). It’s a weighty and lengthy chat that can’t be summarized easily, so it’s best to take a look, digest, and start thinking about the first thing you want to do in Lord of the Rings Online when the expansion goes live.

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Classes, Expansions, Game mechanics

Lord of the Rings Online developer chat transcript available originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Dominion expansion for EVE Online is so-named for its heavy focus on the game mechanics of “Sovereignty” or control of territory in the New Eden galaxy. There’s been no small amount of controversy surrounding CCP’s proposed system, however, particularly as it’s slated to go live on December 1st with the Dominion release. While some of the core game mechanics of control are still undergoing revision, CCP Games recently explained how ownership of solar systems will change hands in a dev blog titled “Storming the Gates.”

EVE developer CCP Abathur lays out how new equipment will be used in claiming space and repelling invaders.

Continue reading CCP Games elaborates on conquest in EVE’s Dominion expansion

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP

CCP Games elaborates on conquest in EVE’s Dominion expansion originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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