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The Art of Wushu: Doing the time for doing crime
Bounties are the primary way that PK victims in Age of Wushu get to fight back against their assailants. If you murder someone, your victim can force you to spend time in jail and pay a constable for the service of putting you behind bars. Much as in EVE Online's original bounty system, there are a few kinks. Overall, it works reasonably well, but there is a disconnect between the intent of the system and how it actually works. As a career criminal, I feel that having a bounty and dealing with it is what separates professional killers from mass murderers.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Trouble with PvP
Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a safe and fun break. For my first article of 2011, I want to talk more about PvP. I've spoken about PvP before, but I want to look specifically at player-killer protection and the ability to instantly change PK status. There was also the slight change to a short-term criminal or hero status since Runes of Magic started. A lot of time has passed since Runewaker made the changes, but I still remember them. Long gone are the days of a forced 10-minute cooldown on PK status and no protection bubble. I'm not a huge PvPer myself, but I wanted to explain a little more about the changes and the way I felt about the system then vs. now. I think it would also be relevant to bring up how the overall system works -- or claims to work. If you're interested in what PvP was like in the early days of RoM and would like to voice your opinion on it, click past the break.
The Game Archaeologist and the Forbidden RuneScape: The R-Team
The Game Archaeologist is a lazy adventurer-slash-professor who dons his trademark cap for a weekly expedition through some of the most famous MMOs of the past few decades. Each month he chooses a different title to examine its highlights, talk with its developers, and invite its fans to share their experiences. They come from all over the world just for one shot to be the elite of the elite. After a rigorous selection process, the survivors undergo months of hardcore training. Fingers aching from the strain and eyes itchy with sleep deprivation, these ripped warriors emerge to battle evil wherever it rears its ugly head. Budapest, probably. Or Easter Island. They loot with wild abandon, they craft with purpose, and they aren't afraid to jam on the caps lock button to make their voices heard. So if you need their help -- and if you can afford them -- maybe you can hire the R-Team. As we continue our month-long RuneScape safari, it's high past time that we hear from the R-Team members themselves. Four past and present RuneScape players graciously laid out the case as to why this MMO rocks socks off. To make a good thing even better, Jagex sent in five new screenshots for your enjoyment. So what are you waiting for? Hit that jump like you mean it!
Lost Pages of Taborea: Costume Killer
If you play MMOs long enough, you may find yourself running across glitches or mechanics with interesting side effects. Sometimes these side effects can be beneficial to your gameplay because they circumvent difficult parts of a game. Maybe jumping at just the right spot lets you walk on air and cross a cavern, or maybe certain spells and items give beneficial effects which allow you to down the Lich King. These types of loopholes have always interested me from a psychological perspective. They present a moral gray area for players to make a decision. On one hand, nothing is being used that isn't already in the game. There are no outside programs or hacking of any kind, but the mechanics of these unintentional easter eggs seem to tiptoe around what are supposed to be challenges. Runes of Magic has its own gray area that affects the PK system on PvP servers. I'll give you the gist of it, what it results in, and my opinion on whether players should be using it or not.
The Game Archaeologist and the Ultima Prize: Richard Garriott
Before he was Tabula Rasa's General British, Richard Garriott was simply -- and most famously -- known as Lord British, the absolute ruler and creator of the Ultima franchise. From 1980's Ultima I through 1999's Ultima IX, Lord British guided the development of one of the most popular RPG series of all time, including 1997's Ultima Online. Through it, Garriott and his Lord British persona became the de facto face of the series, a video game celebrity before such a thing really existed. After the floundering of Tabula Rasa and his subsequent falling-out with NCSoft, Garriot took a little R&R time to blast into outer space, returning to Earth to get involved with a social media games company called Portalarium. Because of his stature as one of the founding giants of not only MMORPGs, but video game RPGs as well, the Game Archaeologist stopped at nothing to procure his wise words for an interview. This quest took us to far-off, dangeous places -- including the world's most famous haunted house, Britannia Manor -- at which point we promptly purchased a return ticket and pleaded with our editor to do our dirty work for us. So bow, mere mortal! For you are now in the presence of LORD BRITISH! (cue wild applause)
Earthrise developers seeking player input
Players having more input or control over the games they play is an interesting direction some MMO companies are taking. While not every company will establish something structured as EVE Online has with the Council of Stellar Management or (as Massively reader Se7en pointed out yesterday) Star Wars Galaxies has with its Galactic Senate, the simple fact that game developers are making efforts to allow more player input is encouraging. Masthead Studios is a newcomer to the MMO scene with Earthrise, a far future post-apocalyptic title, but already they're showing an interest in getting player feedback as they develop the game. The devs at Masthead will now have a "Community Consensus" on the Earthrise forums which brings up key issues with the game's design, to learn how players feel about these aspects of the title. It's not clear yet exactly how much input the players will really have on Earthrise but if the devs are willing to listen to the playerbase, we'd say this is a step in the right direction. The first Community Consensus deals with an issue that will likely be hotly debated -- adding additional incentive for player killing, with greater benefits at higher levels of notoriety.
The Daily Grind: PvP or PvE?
Are you a ruthless killer or a ruthless killer? Ok, scratch that, bad distinction. A better question is do you prefer to spill the blood of vicious monsters or the blood of players who spill the blood of vicious monsters?Today's grind question is, if you haven't guessed or read the title by now, would you rather PvP or PvE your way to fame and glory? Are you more of the type to spend lots of time in World of Warcraft's Arenas (when they're not broken) and Warhammer's Realm vs. Realm, or are you the type of person who would fetch that book for old Abercrombie and protect the lands from the invading dark elves?We're interested in what you have to say on this very divisive issue. Drop us a line in the comment box that's hiding down below this article and tell us if you enjoy your PvE, PvP, or even a combination of both!
