design-goals
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The Nexus Telegraph: Habits that WildStar should keep
Last time around in this column, I talked about the stuff that WildStar desperately needs to get out of its system, and quickly. I'm pleased with it. With the scaling-back of the update pace and some changes that I expect to be coming, I'm hopeful on that front. (Incidentally, if someone has a link to an actual promise of monthly updates from Carbine Studios, pass that along, since I don't think anyone ever actually promised it so much as just wound up doing it.) So why am I still playing the game? Because it's got a lot to recommend it despite those failings. These are not bad habits that the game needs to kick but things that the development team should arguably double down on. They're arguably the best parts about the game and certain what makes it stand out the most. So in direct counterpoint to last week's article, here are the things that WildStar should keep doing.
Albion Online dishes out details on the game's mechanics
Albion Online has some pretty ambitious design goals as a top-down multi-platform MMORPG with free-for-all PvP. A few players have gotten a chance to try the earliest testing build out, and there were some obvious questions, enough for the development team to post several answers. While the game is still early in alpha testing, it's an interesting look at the design philosophy and how harsh the environment really will be. The core of Albion Online is that characters don't have specific levels or stats raised via levels; instead, everything comes down to what you can craft, which is increased as you gain more fame. According to the answers, unarmored characters will all have about 1000 life points. Items constantly degrade and can be looted by other players in combat, which means that there's always a drive to get more items, but finding more valuable materials will require a trek to more dangerous parts of the world. Check out the full list of answers for more details on how the designers look to keep the game lively and interesting. [Source: Sandbox Interactive press release]
Developer diary outlines the goals for Lord of the Rings Online's upcoming raid
Raid design is as much an art as a science. Lord of the Rings Online is slated for a big update to its raiding game with the removal of the radiance mechanic, but that's hardly the only feature in the queue for the upcoming patch. Ost Dunhoth is en route, and in a new developer diary, Joe Barry talks about some of the major changes that are being placed in the raid to make it fun and challenging in equal amounts. Aside from the known fact that no radiance will be needed, the raid will also feature an automatic cooldown reset for each boss fight, ensuring that players won't be prohibited from a second try by a recharging skill. The raid is also divided into three wings, with progress through the first two needed to unlock the third and final wing. Take a look at the full rundown of features in the diary entry, which also includes a few previews of the loot. And if you're a Lord of the Rings Online player in Europe enticed by new content, well, there is a Welcome Back weekend running...
The Soapbox: Respecting the IP and why developers shouldn't
Here's how it is: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. If you've never heard of Firefly, you're either afraid of things that are awesome or you've had an unfortunate gap in your viewing history for the past nine years or so. If you have heard of it, however, you're more than aware that simply referencing the show is enough to send most gamers and fanboys into paroxysms of quotations and general gushing. To say that the universe remains well-loved is an understatement. And if you play MMOs, Firefly seems like a setting that's too perfect to be true. Who knows how many moons are out there in the black, how many crews are left to explore the 'verse and make a fortune? The game never went beyond an announcement, and it still topped our list of games that have gone MIA, after all. And the best part is all of that open nature plays right into the structure of an MMO, with no need to change the wonderful IP set forth in the slightest.
