Ask Massively: It's all the fault of this ocelot edition
I think it's time that we got a new scapegoat. We have things that we're angry about, and since we are no longer allowed to be angry at World of Warcraft due to reasons, our new target shall be... this ocelot. The one pictured above, just sitting on some rocks like he or she owns the place. (I cannot differentiate from faces whether an ocelot is male or female.) So to heck with you, ocelot! Yeah, you know what you did. Don't think we're fooled by your looking cute.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can make it through the rest of Ask Massively in peace. We will be free to contemplate this week's questions, which cover the upcoming World of Darkness along with reviews and a terrible personal secret. Or just a funny one. Either way, click on past the cut, and send in your questions for next week to ask@massively.com, or just leave them in the comment field. If your question is not answered next week, well, ocelot again.
addledpunster asks: What sort of direction does CCP plan on taking the World of Darkness IP with its upcoming World of Darkness MMO?
We're not yet sure, but we can take away a few assumptions. The first, and perhaps most direct, is the fact that the game's currently bandied-about title is specifically World of Darkness, rather than a title focusing on one of the games within the world. That means that it's a fair bet to expect mages, vampires, and werewolves to be playable. Other various supernatural groups present certain problems -- changelings have their whole dual-layered world, and wraiths start out pretty well dead, so they might not be in the initial playable group. The huge pool of other available supernaturals are a case-by-case matter, although I'd bet dollars to donuts we won't be seeing World of Darkness: Gypsy get so much as a sidelong glance.
In terms of playstyle, CCP wants to focus on social interactions while also having a few elements from the themepark style of MMO design. While we probably won't see EVE Online levels of PvP, that certainly implies that we'll see a fair slice of it. Considering that the setting was kicked off by vampires who devoted their unlives to catty infighting, it seems a good place to start.
Primer asks: What's the process for reviews over at Massively?
It's very simple: We don't do them.
For most new games and major expansions, we put together a First Impressions piece to let others know what we thought when we played the game for a little while. Exact time does vary, but we try to get past the "starter" areas and into the meat of the game at least a little. We avoid doing any sort of numerical review, however, because the game is so variable and open to so much change over time.
This might change in the future, but for the time being, that's the way we like it.
Ditto P. Monster writes: I do enjoy your site and your articles -- I read Massively every day -- but you should feature more articles from a Fabricated American point of view.
Actually, I myself am a Fabricated American. I do my best to hide it, but my furry exterior and dough-like complexion winds up giving me away in person. Unfortunately, every time I bring up the topic of writing more to this specific audience, my editors just ask me to do the Kermit the Frog voice.
Thanks for writing, however! Every voice helps spread awareness of our people.
Looking for some advice on which class is best for soloing in Aion? Not sure who this Raph Koster fellow is? Curious about the release date of NCsoft's newest MMO? You've come to the right place! No one knows MMOs like we do. If there's anything you'd like to know about the MMO genre or the site itself, Ask Massively is here to help every Thursday afternoon. Just ask!
