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Microtransactions and the splits in philosophy
No one was expecting the current 900-pound-gorilla of the MMO market to throw its hat in the ring regarding microtransactions, but the fact that it's in the mix has forced a large number of people to take a look at the philosophies and patterns of the business model. Killed in a Smiling Accident recently put down some thoughts regarding the differences, explaining that World of Warcraft's model is, in their opinion, inferior to the one found in the equally-significant microtransaction model of Dungeons and Dragons Online. The former has a store consisting of fluff items with no equivalent in the game, while the latter largely puts forth offerings that can be obtained in the normal game if you want to take the time. Of course, there's the obvious counter brought up in the comments: that it's better to have microtransactions selling something you can't otherwise get in the game. Simply take a look at Champions Online and the controversy over retcon pricing to see how the two can be better left untethered. Getting something unique is a nice bonus for a game you enjoy -- for example, look at the bonus costume packs that City of Heroes sells. However, with items on sale that can be obtained from gameplay, the game can feel a bit more disjointed. There's a case to be made for both sides, and with the free-to-play model gaining speed, it should be interesting to note where the majority of MMO players draw the line.
The perils of railroading in MMOs
If your gaming origins consist of old-school tabletop gaming, you most likely know and fear the term railroading. It's used to describe an innocent-enough formulation that begins in a large number of games, usually run by younger players, wherein players are more or less forced along a preset path no matter what they might choose to do. That's a Terrible Idea recently took certain parts of the MMO world to task for this as well, as offering precisely that -- a game streamlined so effectively that you have no choices to be made. In particular it cites Aion as an example of a game offering a straight-line, no-thought approach to the genre. Certainly one of the common criticisms of some newer games, such as Aion and Champions Online, is that you find yourself pushed along on a narrow set of tracksw toward an inevitable conclusion, without many choices to be made in terms of gameplay. On the flip side, of course, it's hard to argue that a certain amount of streamlining is a good thing -- we might miss the sensation of wondering what we should do next, but not the sensation of having no idea what comes next. But there's an argument to be made that streamlining too far removes the whole reason we play the game, and it certainly destroys any hope of meaningful immersion when all your choices have already been made.
One Shots: Glad they're on our side
It's always disquieting when you smack up against a giant boss who is ready to tear your face off and feed it to you at their earliest opportunity. Thankfully for Ranter, who captured this super-sized pair in Champions Online, these weren't bosses but instead other players. We can only be glad for him, as this now means he's got some enormous help for missions - assuming they can get to the mission without destroying everything, anyway. Ranter writes: When they said Champions Online was growing, they weren't kidding! Players have discovered an ability to grow in size...All MMOs from big to small to ones with big characters are welcome. Just email your screenshots in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post them here and give you the credit. %Gallery-9798%
The perils of MMO tourism
MMOs are a big business these days. This hasn't always been the case -- Ultima Online might have been the first real game of the genre, but it didn't make everyone want to build a competitor. It was the success of World of Warcraft that really opened up the idea that there was a huge amount of money to be made from the genre, and that in turn has brought almost everyone to the table in a rush to build a game, find a method that works, and try to hook as many subscribers as possible. The only problem is that we might find ourselves with an industry drifting toward what MMOSH refers to, quite fairly, as The Bad Place. We've all found ourselves buying new games, playing them only until the trial is up, and then never picking them up again. Sometimes we don't even give them the full month. And some developers seem to be adopting this mentality as well -- there are rumors here and there about the future of Champions Online after its first month, and both publishers and players are treating it as if the first month is everything. (Their recent free trial seems to tie into this -- you could argue that where MMOs once got new players by word of mouth, they seem to be in love with constant trial offers to entice players now.) And that's just the tip of the problem, really -- the post goes into further detail about the cycle of hype, release, and abandonment. As it says, gone are the days when we should stick with the game that we had and wait for it to improve -- and that might ultimately be far more harmful than whatever holes in the game lead us to leave so quickly.
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?
A heroic million inhabit Champions Online
It would seem that spandex hasn't gone out of style in the MMO world. Kotaku is reporting that Cryptic Studios told them that one million superheroes have been created in Champions Online to date. That's a lot of different heroic concepts, costumes, and back-stories! What's even more fun when you think about it? That means there are a million nemeses running around in there too. Cryptic has created a veritable cornucopia of comic-book evil.In a quick survey of the team here at Massively, the average seems to be hovering at 4 characters per Champions Online account. If our completely unscientific average is anywhere near accurate, that would put Champions Online in the neighborhood of approximately 250,000 accounts, which certainly isn't bad for having launched recently. With all the crime still out there on Millennium City streets, though, we hope those heroes will get to work -- there are still a lot more bad guys to beat down!
One Shots: We all float down here
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try - you just can't save all the civilians. That said, it's not every day that they wind up floating, either. This particular strange corpse shot was sent to us by Drazat, who captured this image in Champions Online while looking around a submarine for people to help. A great image for this spooky time of year, we think.If you've found something bizarre on your travels in MMO territory, why not grab a screenshot and send it in to us! Just email it to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description of what we're seeing in the image. We'll post it out here for everyone to share in a moment of communal weirdness. %Gallery-9798%
Champions Online gives away a free retcon
Retcons are valuable things in Champions Online, and they are used only with care, as their effects can be far-reaching and are assured to be constant for quite some time. (This marks a major point of divergence between Champions Online and most current comic books, but we'll leave that to one side for the time being.) So it's a bit significant when Cryptic announces that everyone will be getting a free retcon on October 27th, just in time for the Blood Moon event to kick off in full swing. Cryptic's official explanation is that the free retcon comes as a result of server troubles over the weekend, and is their little way of extending an olive branch to the community. It does come with a bit of a caveat, however -- if you've been banking up your previous free retcon in anticipation of needing it later, they won't stack. You just get the one free. But that's not such a big issue, when you get right down to it -- you can use the retcon if you need it, and start enjoying the zombie-smashing fun. And if you aren't already playing, perhaps now is a fine time to mention that there's a free weekend starting on Friday?
The Daily Grind: The epic confrontation between that guy and what's-his-name
We all go into autopilot sometimes. So, you know, we're on a marathon session to level up, and we're mostly just sort of clicking by instinct. You belatedly realize, however, that you were in the middle of a quest chain. The reason you realize this, sadly, is because you're at the penultimate stage of said quest chain, and the questgiver is making references to all the work that you've been doing to reach this point... when you don't really remember most of what you've been doing up until now. There might have been something with fish men? Or the other fish men. It's all kind of a blur, really. Lore is important, and few people would argue that, but when have you managed to completely miss every bit of what's supposed to be going on? Did you not read up the backstory in the manual and therefore not know that the person you're fighting unleashed horrors on his own people? Did you forget about an NPC that is actually kind of important in retrospect? Or did you just steamroll through things and only find out later that there was an overarching reason for all of this?
Missing something in our MMOs 3: Beyond Thunderdome
It started with Brian Green musing about something being missing in our MMOs, which was followed by Steve Danuser weighing in on the issue as well. The specifics are under debate, but there's been quite a bit of furor on the basis of that simple concept -- that something ought to be there that isn't. We've lost the sense of adventure, of the game and the story being epic. What is it? An interesting idea has been put forth on Fool's Age: perhaps what we're really missing is the opportunity to fail. Leaving aside the inevitable string of comments about how it's possible to fail permanently in Champions Online by choosing the wrong build, there isn't a way in most games these days to undertake a quest and fail. For that matter, it's not even usually possible to alter the course of events -- you might recognize two steps in that the kindly old man is not who he says he is, but you still have to complete the quests as they're offered. The entry discusses some of the obvious problems with allowing players to permanently fail, but the question bears examination. Would our games be better if we had the very real threat of screwing up and failing permanently?
The hardcore language (filter) of Champions Online
While many folks we know really don't care too much about chat filters one way or the other, the rather overzealous chat filter in Champions Online seems to be causing some problems for players - and NPCs! Eric Heimburg over at Elder Game ran into some NPCs having their rather harmless (read: written by game designers) chat censored out due to the crazy filters. Based on his experience, he proceeded to spin an amusing tale of how he suspected the design and testing of that particular feature might have gone down to leave it in as touchy a state as it's currently in. The rest of the post - well, some will agree with Eric, and some will wish he'd stuck with the sillier things about the chat filter. He goes on to refer to Champions Online as being in its "death throes." As this also isn't the first time we've seen weird things get filtered ("Sega" in Guild Wars, "Depp" in World of Warcraft to name two old examples) we wouldn't be surprised to see Cryptic Studios crank the sensitivity down a bit. That said, if you've ever run up against a chat filter garbling your words when you're just trying to be a @(&*!%^ the streets, pop over and @(*$%^! moment into reading about this particular way-too-touchy filter.
Upcoming Champions Online dev chat to focus on the Hero Games
We do a lot of talking on this site (readers included) about things that could be changed or improved in the games we play, and Champions Online has been the subject of these discussions perhaps more than any other title in recent times. While some of our collective feedback must get back to the Cryptic Studios developers, one of the best ways to get through to them is by participating in their dev chats. There is one coming up at 4PM PDT this Thursday, October 8th, and the topic du jour will be the "Hero Games" PvP arenas.The main way that the devs will be taking questions is through this forum thread. They plan to go through as many of the questions posted there as they can, but the audience will get a chance to ask some follow-ups or extra questions at the end too. The IRC channel is #championsonline at irc.coldfront.net, or if you don't want to use an IRC client, there is a Java chat client available as well. So, if you think the Hero Games in Champions Online could be improved somehow, get a few questions ready (remember, the questions thread on the forums gives the highest chance of them being answered) and let your voice be heard this Thursday.
Champions Online lifetime subscribers get to share the love
There was no shortage of people excited about the prospect of lifetime subscriptions for Champions Online, and for fans of the game it's probably already paid off with interest. But, needless to say, some of the more financially-savvy members of the community were probably wondering how Cryptic would deal with the fact that it was no longer going to be getting a monthly payment from its lifetime subscribers.Apparently, the answer is that they're making it even easier for Champions Online's lifetime subscribers to share the love. This morning, all those with a lifetime subscription received three free buddy passes in their mail - each one good for 14 days of free play time. It's a smart move on Cryptic's part, and it's also a wonderful opportunity for the very vocal lovers of the game to get more new players interested and invested in the game. If you were one of the subscribers who took the option while it was offered, your friends, family, and (in extreme cases) pets can get a chance to get on-board with the game. On the other hand, if you haven't tried the game and know a lifetime subscriber, this is the perfect chance to get in and see what all the noise is about.[ Thanks, Pete! ]
One Shots: Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun
While today's Champions Online One Shots may not actually feature the awesomeness of Bruce Campbell, we feel certain he'd approve of this particular screenshot. It's that same smart-assed look you might see on Ash - and hey, if he chose Canada, he'd be fighting zombies! This image comes to us from The Platypus, who sent in the following note: Having a blast in Champions Online... This is a shot of my hero, the somewhat-ironically-named Diplomat, helping Defender take down some nasty Qularr invaders in the Champions Online tutorial. The Diplomat believes in peace through superior firepower, and makes full use of the high-damage, low-defense munitions powerset. Munitions includes dual-pistol shots, gun kata moves, as well as heavy arms like chain-guns and RPGs.. and some nifty throwable mines that turn the Diplomat's enemies into goulash double-quick. He also appears to accomplish goulash with a smirk. Have you been exploring parts of your favorite game that we haven't seen here? All games are welcome, all images too! Send us combat, posed shots, landscapes, you name it, to oneshots AT massively DOT com. Some information like your name, the name of the game, and a description of what's going on in the screenshot is awesome too. We'll post it up here and give you credit.%Gallery-9798%
A big thanks to all those that came to the Champions Online launch day partying
Yesterday was the superheroic launch of Champions Online, and we were very happy to get to play alongside some of you! Throughout the day we were jumping around on our characters, breaking from our former plans of camping in the Crisis zones to tackle challenges all over the Champions globe! From Canada to the Desert to even the fouler reaches of Millenium City, Massively readers were taking down some serious threats to the safety of the NPC population.Didn't get the chance to catch up with us? No worries! We're on your friends list (most likely) so it won't be that hard to catch up with us while we're in-game. Thanks to the wonders of sidekicking, we're here if you ever need backup or just want to go out and save the day.We hope you're all enjoying your time in Champions Online and your time partying and defeating villains with us. We know we're enjoying it, and thanks again!
Direct2Drive Champions Online buyers get an exclusive contest
Did you pre-order Champions Online from Direct2Drive, or did you purchase the game? Well, if you did, you might want to keep a special eye on your inbox, as one lucky buyer will be getting a lifetime subscription to the game.Everyone who pre-ordered and everyone who picks up the game between now and September 7th will be entered to win a lifetime subscription. While only one person will grab the grand prize, five others will be grabbing themselves the six month subscription package, which certainly isn't anything to scoff at. The subscription packages will also contain the special items as well, including the retro future costume set, the art deco costume set, the Foxbat action figure pet, the mirror universe uniform for Star Trek Online, and, of course, STO beta access.For more information on the whole contest, check out D2D's information page.
One Shots: Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be...
There's been a lot of super buzz about Champions Online today as people discuss the end-of-beta event. For some folks, beta has been a great experience, further cementing their decision to buy the game. For others, well, things were not so good: lag, crashes, problems downloading and more. Mind you, that's generally pretty typical for an open stress-test type beta. Problems aside, we're starting to get some One Shots in from Champions players, so today, we treat you to one of the first ones! This came to us from Jade, who writes in: While playing the Champions Online beta starting zone I found this video screen on the side of a building. Picture dictionary meet your newest entry, irony.Are you spending some time in Champions Online? We'd love a screenshot. Just send it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and a quick description. Feel free to add a note, but it's not required. We'll post it here and give you the credit. Couldn't be easier unless we did the gaming for you, which wouldn't be nearly as much fun for you.%Gallery-9798%
Latest Champions Online trailer shows who's boss
Where would a superhero story be if it didn't include a cast of dastardly supervillains for the good guys to face off against? In Champions Online, the Nemesis system will allow players to customize their own ultimate enemy boss -- but that doesn't mean that there aren't top tier villains already built into the game's lore, planning evil deeds and waiting for brave heroes to challenge them. The game's latest trailer (located past the break) introduces some of these big bosses and shows groups of players in combat with them. Qwyjibo, Kigatilik, Grond and Dr. Destroyer make up the roster for the video, and from the looks of things, each of them will put up a mean fight when cornered on their home turf.Hit the jump to see these four pillars of evil-doing in action.
The Daily Grind: Do you buy lifetime memberships?
On Monday we told you Cryptic had announced a lifetime membership for Champions Online. For $199 you get access to the Star Trek Online closed beta, special costumes not available to anyone else and other juicy perks. Cool huh? Now while lifetime memberships are not new (LotRO springs to mind), it's a lot of money to try a must-play game but, in a way, it also binds you to said MMO. You're buying before you try, in effect, and promising to invest a large amount of time in a particular game based on screen shots, lore or the IP.The problem is, it's hard to tell whether a game will be hit and miss and if it ultimately goes the way of Tabula Rasa and The Matrix Online. At the same time, the really popular MMOs like WoW never seem to offer lifetime subs, as if they know they will be so popular that subscriptions will keep the game going well into the next decade. I'm wondering, constant readers, do you buy lifetime memberships and did you do it because it would work out cheaper or because you genuinely love that MMO?
Electricity power set detailed on Champions Online site; other sets coming soon
The Champions Online site has just launched a brand new section devoted to the various power sets that will be an integral part of character creation and gameplay. Right now only the Electricity power set is on show but the other powers will be revealed "over the next few days". The Electricity page contains twelve different powers, with full information on their requirements and effects. Positively shocking stuff.Once the rest of the power sets are detailed, it will be time for fans to flip through the pages, meticulously weighing up the advantages of each particular power. Or, they could just choose whichever seems coolest. Or, they could hit up the open beta (which really isn't too far away now) and go nuts trying them all.
