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The Daily Grind: Should devs share more info with the community?
A recent thread on The Old Republic forums brought some interesting points to light regarding MMO development teams and how they interact with frothing pre-release communities. It seems the natives are restless on account of BioWare's piecemeal reveal strategy (a strategy that, to date, has shown us a flashpoint, a raid, and little else in terms of actual gameplay). Whether you abhor hype or live for it, you have to admit that BioWare is doing a masterful job of keeping fans at arm's length while simultaneously maintaining an air of excitement and expectancy. This isn't likely to change either, as community manager Stephen Reid chimed in on the thread with a polite version of STFU. Reid made no bones about the fact that BioWare will continue to parcel out info only "when it's ready," despite the mounting exasperation of some long-time followers. For today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know where you stand on the issue. Are you OK with BioWare's "release it when it's ready" mantra, or do you feel the company is doing its fans and potential customers a disservice by withholding information? 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!
The Daily Grind: Which in-game item did you work for the longest?
Most MMORPGs are loot-centric games, and whether the gear is required for basic gameplay or relatively meaningless "flair," often times acquiring certain items takes quite a bit of time and effort. Hi-Rez Studios' 12 Drops of Christmas promotion recently concluded with the gifting of an abominable snowman helmet to the Global Agenda die-hards who managed to make it through the lengthy set of challenges. While most of the tasks were pretty easy to accomplish in-game, coordinating the events with hectic holiday schedules took some doing, and I had a couple of close calls when it came to meeting the objectives and squeaking in under the deadlines. Today's Daily Grind asks about your prized rare loot items and the hoops you had to jump through to obtain them. Which item took you the longest time to acquire, and how long did you work for it? 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!
The Daily Grind: Do you recycle character names?
So the next couple of months are shaping up to be rather busy here at the Massively offices (that aren't really offices). Aside from the usual news gathering, column writing, and convention prepping, there's a veritable smorgasbord of MMOs releasing in short order that are going to be demanding lots of our collective attention. Between now and March 1st, we've got DC Universe, Earthrise, RIFT, and Xsyon, and if there's ever been a swath of games that cater to a wide variety of tastes releasing one after the other like this, we'd love to hear about it. With new games comes new characters and for some of us, that represents a bit of a conundrum apart from class or skill choices. Character names are all-important, and for folks that play a lot of MMOs, it might be easier to simply pick one and use it across multiple games. Roleplayers, on the other hand, probably shudder at the thought of recycling character names (and possibly personalities) from game to game. What about you, Massively folk? Do you have an MMORPG handle that you're prone to using in each new title, or are your character names unique? 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!
The Daily Grind: Where are all the sports MMOs?
With the advent of the college football bowl season and NFL playoffs, it's likely that you know someone caught up in the hysteria that surrounds a favored sports team in the thick of a championship chase. You may even be a sports fan yourself, and you also may have wondered -- as we did -- about the discernible lack of sports-based games across the MMO landscape. MMOs and sports would seem to be a match made in heaven. After all, fantasy football is a huge pastime for millions of people, and a box-score-reading sports geek is one of the few folks on earth who could give a stat-parsing MMO min-maxer a run for his number-crunching money. Aside from the occasional F2P game or a beta that few are aware of, MMO sports titles are rarer than a mythical national championship. Today's Daily Grind asks: Where are all the sports MMOs? Would you play one? 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!
The Daily Grind: How does game-hopping affect your relationships?
Game-hopping is a time-honored MMORPG tradition. Whether it's born of a basic sense of wanderlust, a dissatisfaction with the genre, or an earnest love for anything and everything massively multiplayer, many of us play multiple MMOs. The game-hopper ranks are growing too, as the free-to-play model gains traction and financial barriers to the tourist lifestyle are getting lower (or disappearing altogether). One thing that won't change is the fact that not everyone likes to jump around, and sometimes guilds (and even friendships) can be strained by the incessant infidelity. Today's Daily Grind is all about your gaming relationships and the toll exacted on them by the glut of games around every corner. Do you game-hop with your friends or your guild? Do you forge ahead alone? Have you been left behind? How does game-hopping affect your relationships? 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!
The Daily Grind: What game do you play even though you suck?
"Bad players." It's a label thrown around quite a lot in global chats, Vent channels, and forums nowadays. With the influx of warm bodies to the online gaming space, there's bound to be some separation (whether it's perceived or actual) between the wheat and the chaff. The funny thing is, a lot of us know that we "suck" in advance of the reminders from folks who feel the need to constantly point it out. What a few of the more vocal "bad players" trolls fail to realize is that enjoyment derived from MMORPGs isn't limited to a game's competitive aspects. As an example, Global Agenda would have to qualify as one of my favorite MMOs from the last half decade, but judging by my ASM score, I'm one of the worst Robos on the North American shard. That doesn't stop me from logging in and thoroughly enjoying myself on a daily basis, though. What about you, Massively readers? What game(s) do you consistently (proudly?) play at a less than proficient level? [Thanks to the Massively IRC channel for inspiring the topic!] 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!
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite MMO box art?
Digital downloads are all the rage these days, but surely I'm not the only one on a foolish quest to continue cluttering the shelves of my game room with cardboard -- or in some cases, metal -- boxes. Prior to Steam, D2D, and the anti-retail revolution, you probably had a favorite game box or two, ostensibly due to how good (or spectacularly bad) the artwork happened to be. Whether it's the lion-emblazed Age of Conan collector's edition or the sexy Guild Wars Factions box, there's no shortage of spiffy art, graphic design, and high-quality packaging on display in the MMO space. Today's Daily Grind might require you to think back to a time before you threw out all your boxes, or it may call for nothing more than a glance at your gaming shelf. What's your favorite MMO box art? 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!
The Daily Grind: Would you roll back a portion of your favorite MMO?
Jagex is making headlines lately with its trailblazing Wilderness vote. Whether you're a fan of the long-running Runescape MMO or not, you have to admit that it's pretty cool that developers would leave an enormous and game-altering decision up to the players. Aside from that novelty, the potential rollback got us to thinking about sweeping changes to our favorite MMOs, and whether or not we'd reverse them given a Jagex-style choice. Whether it's earthquakes like Ultima Online's Trammel or Star Wars Galaxies' NGE, or subtler and more recent tweaks like Age of Conan's removal of Tortage PvP, the MMO landscape is littered with changes both large and small. Are there any features of your favorite MMO that you'd revert or roll back if you could? Which ones and why? 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!
The Daily Grind: How many hotbars do you have?
It's been argued that MMORPGs are being "dumbed down," and while there may be some truth to that in broad terms, one thing that is most certainly not being dumbed down is MMO combat. On the contrary, combat is getting more involved with each new release, whether it's a result of action titles like DC Universe Online or TERA (which require the player to have a certain amount of twitch skill and situational awareness), or more traditional fare like World of Warcraft, Aion, and RIFT, all of which are special-ability spamfests with a huge number of said abilities for each class. With such a plethora of attacks, defenses, buffs, and crowd-controlling maneuvers at the player's disposal, it's a wonder that the entire screen isn't covered with hotbars. Keybindings play a big role here, of course, but today's Daily Grind is all about your UI. How many hotbars do you have? How are they set up? Do you use a lot of keybindings and macro-enabling peripherals or are you a mouse-clicker? 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!
The Daily Grind: DC Universe -- PC or PS3?
Well, it's officially official. The MMO space will have its newest superhero contender on January 11th courtesy of SOE's DC Universe Online. Whether you're a DC Comics fan, an SOE fan, or that guy who has to try every new game that comes down the pipe, chances are a good number of you will be strapping on your cape and tights soon after the first of the year. The only question is your platform of choice. SOE is taking the unusual step of releasing DCUO on the traditional PC platform as well as the PlayStation 3 console simultaneously, adding another title to the latter's rather sparse MMO lineup. Today's Daily Grind is an easy one: What's your preferred DCUO launch hardware? 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!
The Daily Grind: Does RIFT give you MMO deja vu?
The RIFT hype-o-meter is exploding, and of course Massively's got you covered with first impressions, level guides, news, and everything else Trion-centric. As we look around the MMOsphere, one thing we've noticed is that a lot of the press reviews and forum posts share a feeling of deja vu. For good or ill, RIFT seems to remind many of us of earlier games, or at the very least, pieces of them. We've heard sentiments ranging from "WoW and WAR had a baby," to "EQ2.5," to "it's like Vanguard." Vanguard? Really? In any event, we're curious to know your take, Massively readers. With the recent NDA drop, we're even more curious since we won't get scolded for soliciting your opinions. So let's have them. What game does RIFT remind you of? Is that a good or a bad thing? 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!
The Daily Grind: What's your longest journey to the level cap?
So I recently hit the level cap (again) in Age of Conan, and it got me to thinking about how rare an occasion that really is. While I've played a huge number of MMORPGs over the years, I can count the number of times I've managed to reach the mythical endgame on one hand. I came close on a couple of occasions (notably in Aion and Lord of the Rings Online) only to have an expansion come out and bump the cap beyond the reach of an unrepentant game-hopper. Recently I've returned to Atreia for a bit of dabbling, and given the stately pace of NCsoft's updates, it looks like I might possibly max out at 55 in the near future. If and when that momentous occasion occurs, my Sorcerer will be well over a year in the making. Conversely, I'm about to ding 50 on my first Global Agenda character even though I only started playing the game in October. These two titles sit at opposite ends of the MMO progression spectrum. One has been watered down from its grindy roots but still boasts a disheartening 50-to-55 summit, while the other is expressly designed for lighting-fast progression (made even faster by boosts from Hi-Rez's store). Today's Daily Grind is all about leveling speed. What's yours? What is the longest time frame you've ever spent maxing out a character? 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!
The Daily Grind: How do you like your PvP?
Love it or hate it, PvP is an important factor in most current-gen MMOs and also features prominently in all of the heavy hitters coming in 2011. PvP also comes in several flavors, whether it be the fast and furious team action in Global Agenda, the siege mechanics in Aion or Warhammer Online, or the solo and small-group variety found in just about every title that allows player vs. player combat. Indie titles like EVE, Darkfall, and Mortal Online ramp up the intensity a notch or two by throwing free-for-all and full-loot variations into the mix, and a case can even be made for the viability of economic PvP as a playstyle, particularly in CCP's New Eden. Today's breakfast topic deals with PvP playstyles, and more specifically, yours. Are you a lone wolf type, roaming the countryside looking for targets (or PKers, if you're more hero than villain)? Do you PvP in groups? Do you siege? In a nutshell, how do you like your MMO PvP? 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!
The Daily Grind: What's your most memorable MMO quest?
With all the talk about story in MMOs lately, you'd think it was a new concept for the massive genre. While titles like TERA and The Old Republic are hyping their narrative content in the months leading up to release, we're left to wonder whether everyone has forgotten about the humble quest and the fact that it's been steadfastly serving as a story device (if only we'd bother to read it) for the better part of 15 years. Whether it's killing 10 rodents or delivering NPC unmentionables, the storytelling framework has always existed in MMOs both large and small. The quality and variety is certainly lacking at times, but with thousands of games to choose from, surely a couple of them have featured noteworthy quests that put a smile on your face. Whether that was due to the quality of the writing, the asides and in-jokes, or the immersion factor, inquiring Massively minds want to know about your favorite MMORPG quest. What was it, where can we find it, and why was it memorable? 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!
The Daily Grind: What would you do if your account were compromised?
There's no denying that MMORPG security issues are on the rise and have been for several years now. As more people flood into the MMO space, script kiddies and social engineers naturally have more targets. Account compromises aren't always the result of end-user ignorance either, as several of us know computer-savvy folks who've logged into their favorite game to find their characters stripped (or haven't been able to log in at all). Some game companies are fighting back, notably Blizzard with its World of Warcraft authenticators and NCsoft with its new Aion PIN system (which basically amounts to a second password). That said, ladies and gents, today's Daily Grind is more concerned with you. Specifically, what would you do (or have you done) if your account were compromised? 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!
The Daily Grind: Do you have enough bag space?
I used to laugh at the fact that I could carry 50 or 60 items in the hip pocket of my Star Wars Galaxies avatar. These weren't comlinks or stolen Death Star plans either, but rather big, bulky armor sets and crates of crafted consumables. It seemed rather immersion-breaking at the time, and despite the enormous convenience afforded by SOE's inventory system, well, it simply bugged me. Fast forward a few years to the juggling act that I go through every time I want to quest or craft in Age of Conan, and I'm left to wonder what has changed more, the games or my tastes. Bag space is at a premium in Funcom's Hyboria; I'm forever throwing away stuff, making trips to my bank (which is also stupidly small), or otherwise finding work-arounds for the fact that I'm equal parts pack rat and collector. Most other MMORPGs are similarly stingy with their item space and in fact, it's only been in my recent excursions into Darkfall that I've found an inventory system that I absolutely adore. What about you, Massively readers? Is bag space at a premium in your game(s) of choice? How would you do MMO inventory mechanics differently if you could? 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!
The Daily Grind: Are you playing Cataclysm?
Shhh. You hear that? It's almost as if millions of non-Blizzard voices cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. We feel something terrible has happened. Something apocalyptic and awful. Something cataclysmic, if you will. Yes, today's the day folks. World of Warcraft's third expansion is here, and it's a doozy (both for the world of Azeroth and the world of MMORPGs). While we've got you covered in terms of Cataclysm news, views, and opinion courtesy of our sister site WoW Insider, we suspect you're not actually reading this at all. Whether you're running from Deathwing's fiery wrath or partaking of Blizzard's celebrated world revamp and questing upgrades, those of us outside the borders of Azeroth are feeling a bit lonely. Predictably, today's Daily Grind is an easy one. Are you playing Cataclysm? Guys? 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!
The Daily Grind: Darkfall or Mortal Online?
Massively's been taking a long, hard look at Aventurine's Darkfall lately, but it's not the only free-for-all-full-loot-PvP-semi-sandbox game vying for the title of heir to Ultima Online's throne. StarVault's Mortal Online is in the running too, and despite a horrific launch and less than stellar reviews over its first few months, Mortal is still around and has nowhere to go but up. While it's debatable as to whether either of these games will ever achieve the gameplay variety that Ultima boasted in its heyday, the similarities are there, and there aren't a whole lot of additional choices for folks in search of a traditional 3-D fantasy sandbox MMORPG. So what'll it be this morning, sandbox fans: Darkfall, Mortal, or something else? Fight! 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!
The Daily Grind: Have you ever led a guild?
Guilds are a mainstay of the modern MMORPG. Even with the winds of change swinging the genre towards solo-friendly players, there still exists content that can only be tackled by well-organized groups. Apart from that, the social aspects of a band of regulars can't be overstated when it comes to enjoying everything that the massive genre has to offer. While all of us have no doubt been in a guild at some point during our MMO travels, rarer is the individual who takes it upon himself to sacrifice his own game time to provide enjoyable experiences for others. It can be a lonely, dirty job, but someone's got to do it, and today's Daily Grind is all about celebrating those someones. With a nod to the recently formed Massively Mob as well as our newest column focusing on guilds and guild-centric duties, we're curious to know how many guild leaders are in this morning's audience. Have you ever led a guild? If so, in what game? Is it still around? 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!
The Daily Grind: Will you be playing APB Reloaded?
Corpse rezzing is nothing new in the MMORPG space. Most of us do it, or have it done to us, several times a week on average. Reviving the smelly carcass of a dearly departed game is not quite as trivial, as death in the corporate world is usually more permanent than the inconvenience experienced by our avatars. All Points Bulletin is currently undergoing a reanimation process of its own, and while the verdict is still out on how well the transition to GamersFirst will go, several Massively staffers are excited about the prospects of a return engagement in San Paro. Today's Daily Grind question is an easy one, but feel free to expound on it if you wish. Will you be playing the new (and hopefully improved) version of APB? 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!
