player-written-books
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The Daily Grind: Do you miss player-written books in MMOs?
In her sandbox column a week or so ago, Massively's own MJ Guthrie brought up an MMO feature that's fallen by the wayside in recent years: player-written books. Ancient sandboxes like Ultima Online and modern classics like EverQuest II give players the ability to write their own books, which then populate player-run libraries, serve as tavern menus, explain quests, and mark the memory of friends who left the game. Later games, however, have sadly passed over the mechanic. I can't say that player-written anythings have no potential for abuse and inanity. There's a guild in UO, for example, that uses books as advertising spam, and the game's designers were forced to implement a system to lock-in text to circumvent the "Dudebro was here" graffiti that miscreants would otherwise inscribe on other players' masterpieces. But the potential for cool outweighs the potential for abuse for me, and I miss writing and reading in-game books so very much. What about you -- do you miss player-written books in MMOs? Or do you think they're a niche idea that was retired from MMO design with good cause? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Some Assembly Required: Six must-haves for creative expression
Creativity. It is expressed in so many ways in so many mediums. Art, literature, architecture, music, performance... I love it all, conventional and unconventional. Heck, I revel in it! Why do you think my work and recreation include gaming? Wait, gaming?! You betcha! Beyond the artistry of the developers, MMORPGs offer outlets for player creativity in a variety of ways. I am not ashamed to admit that the primary reason I delve into MMORPGs is not for the gameplay but to explore and experience the creative expression of others (and to express some of my own as well). In fact, finding and sharing that very creativity by championing and highlighting player-generated content is precisely what Some Assembly Required is about. Between (or in lieu of) the hacking, the slashing, and the plundering, players seize proffered tools in myriad virtual realms to build works of art, pen masterpieces, construct edifices, compose melodies, and take the stage, all within the pixeled confines of a virtual world. Unfortunately, not all games have adequate tools for such creative expression. While inspired players can make do if they must, having supporting features exponentially enhances a game (and positively affects retention). Thankfully, some games provide a few standard-setting features that -- in my opinion -- should be included in every game on the market. Here are six of those must-have features.
A look at crafting updates in EQII's Game Update 52
It's not just new dungeons and adventuring quests that will be hitting EverQuest II in the next big patch, Game Update 52; there'll be plenty for those with a crafting bent as well. Niami Denmother of EQ2 Traders Corner had an early look at some of what will be available and has shared her impressions with the community. We already found out that the player-written books in GU52 will come from crafters, and Niami's preview includes screenshots of a variety of different bindings that can be made (by Sages level 50+, by the way).There will also be some revamping of crafted hex dolls and ranged items, and the new stats should please most. Existing hex-dolls will be upgraded to the new stats upon logging in after GU52's release, but the ranged items will not, just in case some people like the stat distribution of their current gear. The last thing we get to see in Niami's sneak peek is a screenshot of some player-crafted furniture. SOE was quick to mention that this is not all the new furniture that GU52 holds, but the preview should be enough to get people to dust off their crafting equipment ahead of time. Make sure to check out the screenshots of the other goodies that will be available.
Features announced for EQII's Game Update 52
EverQuest II's Game Update 52: Monument and Might is almost ready to roll out on the Test server, and the official community site has put up a preview of some of the highlights of the patch. There seems to be a focus on the Rise of Kunark areas for this update. Here's what the preview tells us is coming: The player-written books we had a look at last month A new zone called the Emperor's Athenaeum in Charasis A group instance called Kurn's Tower: Breaching the Void A x2 raid zone also based on Kurn's Tower Research Assistants that can upgrade spells and combat arts Over 80 new quests in the overland zones of RoK We spotted a post from Kiara on the forums saying that these things are planned to be on Test next week if possible, so it won't be long until we know a lot more.
