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The Mog Log: Ideas worth taking for A Realm Reborn
So what does the completely redone Final Fantasy XIV engine look like? I have no idea. I'm not in the alpha test. Considering I got into the beta last time only at the absolute tail end of everything, I am not really surprised. That isn't the point; the point that I'm meandering toward is that the game could play like the previous version with quests and a lick of paint or it could play like a completely different animal altogether. I have to wait and see, as most of you do. I will say this, though: I'm hoping Yoshida's awareness of the larger world of MMOs is coming through strongly. Unlike his predecessor, Yoshi-P seems very aware of the fact that there are games out there aside from Final Fantasy XI, and that's not even counting the existing love letters to longtime series fans. That having been said, there are at least a few things I hope he's swiping from the industry for the relaunched version when it finally comes out. As I've said before, it's not enough for the game to just be capable; it has to really stand out, and I think there are a few ideas to draw on in that regard.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Status report, last year
What with one thing and another, a year has passed. At this time last year, things were very different for City of Heroes, and so I started up my usual trifecta of columns on the past year with a look back at what I said the game needed and how it's done on those fronts. So it's time for the second annual iteration because as we all know, the first annual anything doesn't really count. And if your memory is getting rusty from a year ago, by all means, take the time to refresh it. Certainly if you had told me back then that every major superhero game would be free-to-play before the year was up, I wouldn't have believed it. But that's what's happened, and as the game has shifted, so has the market around it. That means that the game has really had to face off against its two "direct" competitors on a straight footing, and that might not have been in the game's best interests as a whole.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Steal me
A while back, a reader suggested that I talk about the five things that City of Heroes ought to steal from other games, inspired by a column written by our inimitable Ryan Green for a different game. (I've sadly lost the original mail through various cleanups of my inbox, so if the reader in question might speak up, that would be great.) In the wake of the big upgrades coming with Issue 19, now is a wonderful time to take a closer look at the things that would make fine additions from elsewhere. Of course, part of the reason this took a while (as the reader noted in the mail) was that, truth be told, there are a lot of systems that Paragon Studios was either the first or darn near the first to innovate. How many games even have content-generation at the level of the Mission Architect? But there are still places where City of Heroes could take a lesson or two that (hopefully) wouldn't require rewriting the entire game from the ground up.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite non-MMO genre?
Long before we had the soaring crafts and grand interstellar vistas of EVE Online, most games that involved spaceships were of a very set type. They usually involved one small ship, a horde of other ships, bullets flying everywhere, and a number of lives that were expressly designed to eat up as many quarters as possible. The gaming field has changed quite a bit since then, but scrolling shooters in the vein of Darius or R-Type can still eat up hours on end... much like most MMOs, although without as much emphasis on virtual worlds. And there's little denying that for fans of the genre, they're as effective at reducing stress. Today, we ask our readers: what's your favorite game type that doesn't fall under our header? Do you prefer traditional console RPGs? Do you veer more toward fighting games, or strategy titles, or is it a mishmash of different things that appeal to you? You could argue the elements of Team Fortress 2 or Borderlands, but they generally fall under a different aegis than Champions Online or EverQuest II for most players... so what about you? What do you like to kick back with when you aren't on your MMO of choice?
Heading for greener pastures in 2008?
It's the first month of a new year, and you know what that means: predictions aplenty. Across the MMOscape over at Massively, almost everyone is predicting that WoW is going to suffer-- there's no question that there's a long line of MMOs just waiting in the wings to snatch you players away from Azeroth-- from Warhammer Online to Age of Conan, there are supposed to be some terrific MMOs released this year.So who better to ask if you're moving to greener pastures than you yourselves? You're not supposed to ask whether players are leaving for Warhammer on the forums, but we've got no such compunctions: are you planning on leaving for Warhammer or any other new games in 2008? Are you just keeping time in WoW until the game you really want to play releases later this year?Rest assured, die-hard WoW fans, that we're not going to become "WAR Insider" anytime soon (we've already got it over at Massively anyway)-- I love World of Warcraft, and while I'm definitely excited to see what Mythic and Funcom have in store for us this year, I'm also (along with all of our writers here) in Azeroth for the long run-- at least until I get to see what the Maelstrom's deal is and what's happening in the Emerald Dream.
