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The Think Tank: Putting The Elder Scrolls Online's launch in context
If you've been around the MMO industry long enough, you know that MMO launches rarely go smoothly for everyone. Some of them even crash and burn in such spectacular ways that veterans are still invoking their names a decade later. This week, I polled a few of the Massively staffers about the launch of the Elder Scrolls Online. How did it fare compared to some of the trainwrecks in MMO history?
The Think Tank: Essential MMO launch components
How many times have you read about a post-launch game patch and seen a fellow gamer dismiss the additions with, "That's nice, but it should have been in at launch"? Probably far too many to be realistic considering the time and expense involved in making MMOs, but we all say it anyway. I saw similar comments in the last few weeks about Guild Wars 2, Diablo III, and Lord of the Rings Online -- it's almost as if we don't want to let games redeem themselves! This week, I asked the Massively writers to assume that basics like "chat" and "combat" are givens and then select the one completely and utterly essential gameplay mechanic or element that they think an MMO should really have at launch. Here's what they told me.
The Think Tank: How MMO players prepare for launch
Launches are a big deal to MMO players. Diablo III and SMITE both released this week, Landmark made a break for closed beta, and The Elder Scrolls Online, the first major MMORPG of the year, will become a reality next week. So how do you prepare for these launches in an era of digital downloads? That's exactly what this week's Think Tank asks the Massively team members, who cleverly pretended that they don't call in sick from Massively itself on launch days. Ahem.
The Think Tank: The importance of auction halls in MMORPGs
Diablo III's gold and RMT auction houses shut down this week. Final Fantasy XI is getting auction house upgrades. Ultima Online launched vendor searching today after 16.5 years of operation. This calls for an auction house-themed Think Tank! I polled the Massively staffers about whether or not MMORPGs should have auction houses, and specifically, whether they enhance or detract from the economic experience of a game. Chime in!
Landmark will be included in SOE's All-Access program; latest EQ Next roundtable video now live
SOE has today updated the FAQ for its multi-MMO All-Access Program. Among the update highlights is the news that EverQuest Next Landmark will be included in the All-Access program, but not in time for April 16th. What else do you need to know that you didn't know before? Every participating game will clearly show players when they've received their monthly 500 Station Cash. Multiple-month memberships will not grant all of their bonuses at once. Existing silver memberships in EverQuest and EverQuest II will be grandfathered but no longer available to newcomers. Separate accounts for different SOE games will remain separate. Multiple game memberships on a single account will be merged into a single All-Access membership reflecting total game time and rated on the oldest membership. In EverQuest Next news, SOE has posted up its latest roundtable video, this time discussing whether a single character should be able to do ALL THE CRAFTS. We've embedded it below!
The Think Tank: Housing or bust! Right?
With Star Wars: The Old Republic's new player apartment system apparently on the way and several other major MMOs set to launch with or receive housing this year, what better time than now to debate whether housing belongs in MMOs? Sandbox fans are probably choking on the idea that it might not, raised as they were on the idea that housing is such an obvious hub for social interaction and creativity, but a lot of gamers can take it or leave it, figuring that they don't really need another resource-intensive place to stash loot in between raids or PvP matches. I polled the Massively team members to see whether they consider player housing a vital component of MMORPGs. Feel free to chime in!
The Think Tank: The things that keep us coming back to MMOs
Last weekend, Massively columnist Beau Hindman penned a Free for All article titled Five reasons to continue loving MMORPGs, a tribute to the heart and soul of games in what can sometimes seem like a snark-filled, cynical industry. He mentions value, variety, accessibility, and sociability as being among those reasons he still adores the genre. I wanted to find out what the rest of our team members thought, so I posed the question to them: What one thing keeps you coming back to MMORPGs above all else?
EVE Evolved: What to expect from EVE Fanfest 2014
Almost 10 years ago, EVE Online developer CCP Games started a new tradition with the first ever annual EVE Fanfest. The event started out as a largely informal gathering in a tiny venue that allowed players and developers to mingle on a more personal level, but it's now grown into something massive. Over a thousand players now make the annual pilgrimage to EVE Online's birthplace in Reykjavik, Iceland, to hear what the future holds for their favourite MMO. For many, the event is also a social gathering, a chance to swap stories with other players, and a rare opportunity to meet the corpmates they fly with every day in the virtual galaxy of New Eden. The Fanfest weekend is typically a packed schedule of panels, talks, roundtable discussions with developers, and keynote speeches revealing the future of the game. While the event is understandably focused on EVE Online, it's recently expanded to cover aspects of DUST 514, the latest goings-on with World of Darkness, and even CCP's new virtual reality dogfighter EVE Valkyrie. CCP has announced that this year's event will see a monument to the EVE playerbase unveiled in Reykjavik Harbor as well as the first reveal of EVE's summer expansion, but what else can we hope to glean from this year's event at the start of May? In this edition of EVE Evolved, I delve into the EVE Fanfest announcement and speculate on what we might expect to hear from this year's event. Will this be the year that World of Darkness gets some serious news? And what's new for DUST 514?
The Think Tank: Are unofficial MMO fansites and forums important to you?
With the often unpleasant turnaround rate of fansites and unofficial forums, one can't help but wonder about the viability of such websites in relation to the bigger picture. Often times these sites are created and maintained purely from player passion, even when official support is nowhere to be found. But that passion is not always consistent. I polled the Massively team members for their own thoughts on fansites and unofficial forums. Do they trust these player sites more than official lines of communication on a game's community status, or are they often too sporadic or unprofessional to bother with? Read along after the jump for our answers.
The Think Tank: How do you feel about press-only beta coverage?
Here's a thing that happens sometimes: A high-budget MMO has a tiered beta with an NDA that is lifted in parts. Sometimes those parts include early access for press, and sometimes that NDA lifts for press before anyone else. This has only happened a handful of times, and it never really works as intended. Almost everyone thinks that everyone should be able to talk about what he or she is playing and that games press is wrong. After going through one of these episodes just last week, we figured it would be a good time to share our (wrong) opinions on how these press-only beta NDA lifts play out.
Looking for Guild: WildStar needs you!
I'm happy to say that we have another large list of players looking for a guild this week, and almost every one of them is (or will be) playing Carbine's Wildstar. An MMO like this (triple-A publisher, currently in beta) is perfect for this this LFG column as it allows players to get themselves ready for the game on launch day. Read on past the jump below for our full list of players looking for a guild.
The Think Tank: What's your favorite game genre (other than MMOs)?
You'd think that a bunch of MMO bloggers would pick the MMO genre as their favorite, but that's not necessarily true. But that's precisely why we have such a great team here! So many game genres come together to form the MMO genre, so it only makes sense that we like other games too. So I picked the brains of our staff members to see what other types of games they enjoy when they'e not playing the latest MMO. Read along after the jump for their picks.
The Think Tank: Do you pay attention to developer livestreams?
Along with Reddit AMAs, developer livestreams are turning out to be all the rage these days. Studios are turning to the live format to show off upcoming game features, tease new content, and just show the players what the development team is like behind the scenes -- but with pants (sometimes). But does it work? Obviously it's working well enough to make it a growing trend, but I was curious about how the Massively staff members felt about this. Do they pay attention to developer livestreams?
The Think Tank: What past or future MMO do you wish you could play right now?
If you listen to our podcast at all, you probably know that Bree and Jef miss Star Wars Galaxies. If you've read anything by me in the past five years, you probably know that I miss Tabula Rasa. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and many of us spend a lot of time reminiscing about the good old games. But there's also the other side of that coin. The yet-to-be-launched games we're looking forward to seem as if they could be the greatest thing ever. So I asked the Massively team members to tell us what currently unplayable games they want to play the most. Be it closed down or upcoming, there's bound to be something. Read along after the jump for our thoughts!
The Think Tank: What change do you fear in the future of MMOs?
MMO vets have a reputation. No, I don't mean the basement thing, I mean we're often seen as being afraid of change. Back in our day, we had to wait an hour for a raid boss to spawn, and we liked it! But ironically, the free-to-play push has turned MMO gamers against anything said to be releasing with a sub, as seen with the recent backlash against The Elder Scrolls Online. So I polled the Massively staff members for their opinions on the changes we see in our favorite genre. Is there anything they're particularly afraid to see as they glare into the crystal ball?
The Think Tank: Name your MMO dev dream team
While playing our favorite MMOs, we rarely sit down to think about the people who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into granting us these gaming experiences. Well, at least until we come across something we don't like. Then the blame game begins. But the truth is, it usually takes a large team to assemble a proper MMO, and no one or two people should be held accountable. Well, unless you're literally making an MMO entirely by yourself. So I asked the Massively team members whom they would have on their MMO dream team. Would they pick out talented individuals or talented groups of designers? Check out the complete list just after the jump.
The Think Tank: What components make up your ideal MMO?
We received a reader tip last week from Aislinn asking us what our ideal MMO components would be. She wrote, "Seeing your picks for Best of 2013, reading your opinions especially on subscription models, and reading the comments of those replying in the article, I wonder: What are the staff's opinions on what makes an ideal MMORPG? With sub? No sub? Buy-to-play with cash shop? I'm curious now what you guys think is an ideal MMORPG." Well, Aislinn, that's a good question. We've covered similar topics before, even dedicating a column to it for a while (until we ran out of ways to stretch Star Wars Galaxies to a thousand words), but it's a good topic to frequently revisit. So I asked the team members to give me their ideal MMO components, and a few of them went to town.
The Think Tank: Massively's 2014 MMO predictions
The end of the year is our time to not only reflect on the last 12 months but also look forward to what's to come. Since some of the more anticipated MMOs like Elder Scrolls Online and Wildstar have missed their anticipated 2013 launches, we now have that to look forward to in 2014. But what else? Follow along after the jump for the Massively staff's 2014 predictions, and for an added laugh, take a look back at our 2013 predictions to see how close (or far off) we were.
EverQuest Next will feature a longer day/night cycle
If you're one of the few people who have ever given serious and lengthy thought and consideration as to the day/night cycle in MMOs, you might be a developer (real or armchair). In the latest EverQuest Next round table, the SOE team discusses how the day/night cycle will impact players and whether it should change from the EverQuest standard. The EverQuest standard day/night cycle is 72 minutes (36 minutes for each half). In the poll, the most players said they were open to lengthening this cycle due to how the emergent AI will act depending on the time of day. So what did the developers decide to do with this polling data? According to the round table, they're going to make the day/night cycle an even two hours long. Just as in real life. You can watch the discussion after the break.
Second Wind Roundtable: The final days of Warhammer Online
I know it's been a while, but the Second Wind Roundtable is back for a special occasion: the shutdown of Warhammer Online. As you may know, Mythic's long-floundering RvR title is officially shutting down on December 18th, taking with it the war between Order and Chaos that's been waging since 2008. I was never a die-hard WAR player, but I did have an account still in good standing, and the game was made free for all former subscribers, so I figured that I'd jump in for a last hoorah despite the icky taste it left in my mouth the last time I played. I wasn't about to do this alone, though, so I pulled my now-ex-friend Eliot Lefebvre along for the ride. A post on the official site promised new NPCs to power up our characters and "other unique experiences," so I expected a big end-of-the-world bash as former players returned and boosted to max level for one final brawl. What we got was... well, just read on past the cut. I need a drink.
