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The Tattered Notebook: Beastlord prep 101
EverQuest II's most recent update brought two new additions: the dungeon finder and the prelude event for the new Beastlord class that will arrive with the release of Age of Discovery. I was going to look at the dungeon finder this week, but it's had its share of problems, and with the team still working on tweaks to make it more useful, I figured I'd table it until some of the changes get patched. That means this week's Tattered Notebook is focused on the Beastlord. Closed beta is beginning, and while it's hard to believe, the expansion is due to launch in late November. There's no doubt that many of us will be rolling up Beastlords, so this is a perfect time to start making preparations in advance of launch day. Read on for a look at some tips to make your first few days as a Beastlord fun and enjoyable.
The Guild Counsel: A look at Race to World First
As MMOs grow in popularity and age, they're being seen as a serious subject of study. And as they gain acceptance, we're beginning to see more exposure on paper and in film. Recently, we looked at the documentary The Raid, a portrayal of one guild's progression through World of Warcraft raid content. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at yet another new documentary: Race to World First.
MMO Family: Why games are good for family
A couple of years ago, Massively readers engaged in a great discussion that doesn't get covered nearly as much as it should. Thanks to former Massively columnist Lisa Poisso, the column MMO Family was born, and she and the readers looked at how MMOs affect the family, both the positives and the potential dangers. I'm excited to have the opportunity to start the column up again because I think a lot has changed in the short time since the column went on hiatus. We'll revisit a few issues that Lisa brought up and some of the more recently released MMO titles to see which ones are the best for family-centered gaming. To kick things off, I'd like to explore why MMOs are good for kids and for the family unit as a whole. When it comes to talk about kids and gaming, the discussion tends to revolve around the negatives, like violence, antisocial behavior, or lack of physical activity. No one will argue that MMOs, as with most anything, can have detrimental effects when played to excess. But to focus on the negatives is to ignore the vast amount of benefits that gaming can provide. Read on for a few examples.
The Tattered Notebook: Why EverQuest is a Hall of Fame game
Earlier this week, at GDC Online, EverQuest was inducted into the Hall of Fame. There, up on stage, were about a dozen of the original members of the team. It's remarkable to consider how many games these developers have been a part of since their work on EQ. But in 1999, these were pioneers, scrambling to answer daily questions about what exactly the MMO genre should be. There are a lot of factors that make EverQuest worthy of being inducted to the Hall of Fame, and in this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at a few as well as take a larger look at the state of the industry from GDC Online.
The Guild Counsel: Why not all guild departures are equal
"I'm only a tell away." The line is one that MMO players see all too often, and it signals the departure of a guildmate. I used to joke with one of my guildies about that line, and while we went through the motions and said good luck, deep down inside we resented the fact that someone chose to bail on our guild. For us, the line smacked of insincerity, and it probably would have been better in our eyes for the person to just not have said anything at all. Through the years, the MMO landscape has changed a lot, and so has my feeling toward the phrase, "I'm only a tell away." In this week's Guild Counsel, I'll look at how not all departures are equal.
Enter at Your Own Rift: A six-month retrospective
About a year ago I was on a little show called The Rift Podcast with Arithion, Desi, and Trion Community Manager Cindy Bowens. It's hard to believe, but at the time, there was just a trickle of buzz surrounding RIFT and only a few details were available about the game. We're now six months into release, and it's worth taking a look back at some of the memorable moments for RIFT from beta and beyond. There have been many changes in-game, and while the ride wasn't always smooth, it's surprising how much has been added in game in such a short time. In this week's Enter at your own Rift, we'll journey back to beta and look at some of the peaks and valleys as it reached its six-month milestone.
GDC Online 2011: CCP on virtual goods in EVE Online
Remember Monoclegate? CCP sure does, and at GDC this week, the company reflected on some lessons learned from its introduction of virtual goods to EVE Online. Associate Producer Ben Cockerill from CCP games offered a candid look at what the team learned through both player response and market data. While the initial launch of virtual goods in Incarna sparked a fierce objection on the forums and even in-game protests and riots, things have settled down quite a bit, and CCP seems confident that it is headed in the right direction now. Read on for a look at why virtual goods were introduced into EVE Online and what the team has learned so far.
The Tattered Notebook: A 'Top Gear' look at mounts
Previously, I've been writing about the weighty topic of free-to-play vs. live subscription servers in EverQuest II. This week, I'd like to switch gears, both figuratively and literally, to talk about speed. I've recently become a fan of the show Top Gear, a British program(me) that is completely devoted to the love of cars. I don't know why -- I'm not really into cars, and my Volkswagon Passat Wagon hardly qualifies as a car with a soul. But I was watching a recent episode, the one in which Jeremy was driving an Aston Martin across country, and I thought about how far EQII's mount selection has grown. Gone are the days when your choices ranged from a horse with brown spots to a horse with white spots to the really impressive horse with brown and white spots. The only unique mounts back then were the Paladin and Shadow Knight "fun" mounts. Today, there are dozens of different types of mounts that run, leap, glide, and fly. And they're not all just marketplace quick hits; several are easily attained from simple quests or live events. In this week's Tattered Notebook, I'll look at a few of my favorite mounts with an ode to Top Gear.
The Guild Counsel: Making a new guild work in an old game
Running a successful guild is a difficult challenge, and I'm defining successful as a guild that, regardless of playstyle, can accomplish its goals and endure for years. There are thousands of guilds created, but very few of them last more than a year, and even fewer can boast of being around for longer. One of the toughest challenges for any guild leader is creating and building a guild from scratch in a game that's been around for years. I experienced that when I moved our guild from Vanguard to EverQuest II, where I had played for a few years before. We were the little fish in the big pond, and since everyone was either starting there for the first time or re-rolling on the server we chose, we had to build everything from the ground up. What made it hard was that as we leveled together and struggled through the content together, it became more and more tempting for people to jump ship and move to an established guild that was ahead of us. Building a new guild in an older game is difficult but not impossible, and there are a few areas to be mindful of if you want to run a guild that can survive the test of time. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at a few ways that guild leaders can make a new guild in an old game actually work.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Tidbits from 1.5
RIFT's Update 1.5 has been live for about a week now, and with it comes lots of changes. What always strikes me about the updates is the number of quiet changes that leave you saying, "Wait, what was that?" It's not a ninja nerf; it's more like the fine print of the patch notes -- things that you tend to skip over or not read closely because there's so much other stuff to chew on. This week in Enter at Your Own Rift, we'll take a look at a few of those "little" changes. And yes, we'll look at some of the larger ones too!
The Tattered Notebook: What if live servers go free-to-play?
For the past few weeks of The Tattered Notebook, I've explored EverQuest II's Extended server, Freeport, to see what gameplay is like on the other side of the wall that separates it from its subscription-based cousins. This week, I'm going to look at the scenario that all EQII players consider: making all servers free-to-play. It's a very complicated issue, and there are excellent arguments on both sides, but there are a few factors that tend to tip the scales. I don't have nearly enough space in this column to touch on every issue involving a free-to-play transition, so I'm going to focus on a few of the most important ones and give my thoughts on what would need to happen if EQII did indeed go free-to-play on all servers.
The Guild Counsel: A closer look at leadership style
There's a little saying that dogs and their masters often tend to resemble one another. That can also be true for guilds and their leaders. The atmosphere and feel of a guild, more often than not, is a mirror of the leader's personality. If a guild is running roughshod across the server, laying waste to the countryside, chances are that it's being led by an aggressive, type A personality. Similarly, if there's a guild that charms the pants off the server and is known for its friendly tone, there's a good chance it has a leader with a matching style. But sometimes, a certain leadership tone can work effectively in some ways and fall flat on its face in others. This week in The Guild Counsel, we'll look at three common leadership styles -- the yeller, the motivational speaker, and the den mother -- to see how each works well and how each can fall short of the mark.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Tackling the question of which is better
From the first day that RIFT launched, an endless debate has erupted around one central issue. Players have chosen their sides and dug in deep defending them. It's led to countless arguments and a six-month battle that gets worse with each passing day. For this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, I've decided to tackle this debate head on and really look at what divides the two sides. That's right -- the time has come to finally decide which is better: Guardian or Defiant.
The Tattered Notebook: The EQ2X community speaks
This week, I was all set to share my personal experiences as I continue my time on the EverQuest II Extended server. I was going to talk about guide events (or lack of them) and my amazing feats with my newly purchased Wand of Obliteration (I killed a Spectre in Sinking Sands at level 13 but only got about 1300 experience, which is not much more than I was getting for white and yellow cons at my level). But then I realized that if we're really going to roll up our sleeves and tackle the issue of free-to-play, we need to hear from those who exist on the other side of the virtual wall, those who have been silently playing in a world cut off from the rest of the Legacy servers, both in game and out. In this week's Tattered Notebook, I tracked down guild leaders and members of guilds on the Freeport server in order to hear from them what their gaming experience is like. While I had been playing my bronze account for the column, I made a character on my main account in order to have access to chat channels and in-game mail in order to get in touch with them. I spoke to two of the top raiding guilds on the server as well as a large crafting guild. We talked about raiding, the economy, and the community overall. What I uncovered was eye-opening. Read on for their stories.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Hal Hanlin and Scott Hartsman on Update 1.5
Chronicles, Planar Attunement, Veteran Rewards, a World Event, and a hint about a brand-new area coming soon are just the tip of the iceberg in RIFT's 1.5 update. Ashes of History is due to launch next week, and Design Producer Hal Hanlin and Executive Producer Scott Hartsman offered up lots of details during a conference call yesterday. Whether you're an experienced veteran or a brand-new player, there's something for everyone in update 1.5. Read on for the full rundown of what's on the way, then take a look at our gallery for the newest Ashes of History screenshots.%Gallery-101448%
The Tattered Notebook: Looking beyond the price points in EQ2X
Last week, I began a little experiment in the world of EverQuest II Extended. I wanted to see whether a longtime, loyal veteran could find enjoyment on the other side of the wall that separates my live server from the free-to-play server. Almost every assessment about free-to-play servers is dominated by talk of price points, fairness, and bang for your buck. But it's not a used car; it's a virtual world, and there is a lot more to look at beyond dollars and plat. EverQuest II and EverQuest II Extended actually offer a unique look into the similarities and differences between subscription based servers and free-to-play servers because they're completely separate entities, yet they're basically the same game. Read on for highlights of my second week in EQ2X!
The Guild Counsel: Can GW2's multiple guild feature work for other MMOs?
Guild Wars 2 caused a stir recently at PAX when its devs announced their concept of multiple guilds. According to the news, guild membership will be account-wide, and players will be able to log in and browse the chat for each of the guilds to which they belong. In a recent installment of Flameseeker Chronicles, Rubi gave a great rundown of the pros and cons of a multiple guild system. While there are still a lot of details yet to be revealed, Guild Wars 2 is changing the way players view guilds. But what about all of the other MMOs currently out there that we all know and love? If you're a guild leader, chances are that you've already dealt with the question of whether to allow members to have characters in other guilds. Can it work, or is it a recipe for drama? In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look back at how far guilds have come and whether allowing for multiple tags can work in current MMOs.
One Shots: Maybe she'll sing!
We're wrapping up the week on a bit of a high note thanks to Massively's very own Karen, who couldn't resist joining in on the fun with a Free Realms screenshot. The image itself was funny (and kind of icky) and got even funnier once Karen explained, "I'm paying homage to Lady Gaga." That's it for this week, and we're ready to move on to starting zone week! First impressions are a big deal, so many developers put a lot into that first zone you see. Show us a screenshot of your favorite starting zone -- add your name and a little bit about the image, send it in to oneshots@massively.com, and we'll feature it in next week's One Shots! %Gallery-112285%
The Tattered Notebook: A grizzled veteran goes free-to-play
It's been almost a year now since EverQuest II Extended was officially launched, and I've resented every minute of its existence. From the moment it was first announced, on the eve of Fan Faire 2010, EQ2X has been my own personal Newman of the MMO world. It dominated the discussions at Fan Faire and put a damper on everyone's fun. And once it launched, it always seemed to be at the root of every problem. New invites to our guild on the live server dropped to just one in eight months (and that one invite was a real-life friend of a guildmate). The promised marketing campaign for EQII live got the shaft in favor of pushing the new free-to-play service. Forum snafus during the Velious beta were all because of the EQ2X forums. While thousands and thousands crammed the Freeport server and frolicked for free, I languished on the live server and even began to empathize with the Grinch. But now that EQ2X is almost a year old, I decided it's time for me to bury the hatchet and pay a visit to the free-to-play server. I rolled up a new character on a bronze account, and over the next several weeks, I'll be taking a close look at EverQuest II Extended. It's a journey in EQII free-to-play through the eyes of a longtime player. Read on for my first arrival!
The Guild Counsel: Dealing with 'Mr. Wiggly'
So there you were, ticking those last few points of health off the raid mob, preparing to celebrate a major victory, when all of a sudden someone triggers a massive AoE and the raid wipes. Even worse, you and everyone else on the raid instantly know who it is because it's the same person who mem-blurred the boss the week before and accidentally ported his group out the raid before that. In fact, it's beginning to seem like the raid should stop fighting NPCs and start taking on this guy because he's a much bigger threat. The easy answer is to ream him out, boot him, and refuse to ever rez him again, but it's not that simple because he is extremely nice, is married to the guild leader, is helpful and contributes immensely when not raiding, or is a combination of all three. That's right, in this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at what to do with the nightmare of having a Mr. Wiggly in your guild.
