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Leaderboard: Are you still interested in ArcheAge?
So, ArcheAge. It's still not playable in English, but rumor has it that Trion's got a related announcement scheduled for next week's GDC event in San Francisco. While I've been critical of XLGAMES for its interminably slow localization process -- and for releasing its fantasy sandpark everywhere except the West in recent years -- I'm still psyched to play it. The title is both full-featured and utterly unique, and how often can that be said about a current-gen MMORPG? Ultimately, it's one worth waiting for, in my opinion. What about you? Assuming you were interested in ArcheAge at some point over the last three-plus years, are you still interested? Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Are you concerned about Elder Scrolls Online's PvP focus?
The Elder Scrolls Online is a fascinating MMO for a number of reasons. There's the obvious triple-A budget and mega-popular IP, but apart from that the game appears to feature highly customizable skill-based character progression and curiously, a heavy focus on player-vs.-player combat. We say curiously because prior to ESO, the Elder Scrolls series went to great lengths to immerse players in you're-the-savior-of-the-world storylines, which on some level are incompatible with competitive multiplayer PvP. So, how about it, Leaderboard readers? Are you concerned about ESO's PvP pedigree, or are you OK with the IP branching out in new directions? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What's your preferred Elder Scrolls Online class?
Last week we asked you about your preferred Elder Scrolls Online faction. This week, we'll keep our focus on ZeniMax's forthcoming fantasy MMO, but we'll cover the game's classes instead. ZeniMax has shown off ESO's extensive skill-based customization options, of course, but players will need to pick a base class at character creation that will open up three skill lines and allow for building a unique character around a theme. Whether you're partial to Dragon Knights, Templars, Nightblades, or Sorcerers, we want to know, so vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What's your preferred Elder Scrolls Online faction?
ZeniMax partially dropped the NDA for Elder Scrolls Online, and while we can't really talk about stuff past level 15, we can talk about factions. There are three of them: The Ebonheart Pact, the Aldmeri Dominion, and the Daggerfall Covenant. Nords, Dunmer, and Argonian players will belong to Ebonheart. Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit fall under the Aldmeri banner, while Bretons, Redguards, and Orcs will be sporting Daggerfall colors. So, how about it, Leaderboard readers? Which Elder Scrolls Online faction will you be playing? Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What sort of MMO would you make? Part deux
A couple of weeks ago we put on our designer caps and played a little game called Grossly Oversimplified MMO Development. I still haven't come up with a better title, but whatever, we're going to move ahead to phase two anyway. In round one, Leaderboard readers were asked to choose a primary focus for our MMO project. The simulation/virtual world choice won the day with 29.8% of the vote, followed by the PvE/combat progression choice and the PvE/crafting progression choice -- both with 19.5% of the vote. Now that we have a gameplay focus, we should probably pick a genre, don't you think? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What's the most you'd pay for early access?
I want to play Elite: Dangerous. Like, really bad and stuff. The good news is that I can, since Frontier has jumped on the pay-for-early-access train and is selling slots to its alpha. The bad news is that said slots go for around $320.00 USD depending on the exchange rate. In other words, I can help squash bugs and fumble around with unfinished systems and content, or I can enjoy nearly six full-price triple-A games. So, yeah. As much I'd like to support (and write about) another promising space sim sandbox, I think I've found my upper limit in terms of game pricing. What about you, Massively readers? What's the most you'd pay for early access to one of your most anticipated games? Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What sort of MMO would you make?
For this week's Leaderboard, let's play a little game. It's called Grossly Oversimplified MMO Development. Yeah, I know, that title needs work. At any rate, you've just been promoted to creative director at Acme Games, Inc. and now it's up to you to choose the primary focus of your company's next MMORPG. Now, before you get all uppity about the five choices and the fact that you can only pick one, realize that picking one doesn't exclude the others from your game. For example, you might have story content in your virtual world title, or PvE content in your PvP title. Ultimately, though, your game cannot be all things to all people, and this choice is your baseline in terms of what the game exists to facilitate. Head past the cut to get started! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: EQN vs. EQN Landmark
Apparently EverQuest Next: Landmark is going to be playable in a few days. I say apparently because I haven't bought any of the alpha access packs and therefore haven't really been paying attention to whether or not SOE is on track to follow through with its end-of-January promise. But that's Landmark. EverQuest Next -- which is a totally different beast -- has no current timetable. It could release in 2015 or 2025 for all we know right now. Are you holding out for one game or the other, or do you plan to play both? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: ArcheAge vs. Blade & Soul
I'm feeling a bit ornery today, so you'll have to excuse this Leaderboard's angry-gamer outlook when it comes to Korean imports and the W-word. See, I like Korean MMOs a whole lot, but I don't particularly like Westernization because a) one of the main reasons to play a culturally divergent MMO is to experience said divergent culture and b) Westernization takes for-frickin'-ever. How long have we been waiting on ArcheAge now? And what about Blade & Soul? And yeah, I know Trion is purportedly in friends-and-family alpha now. That's better than Blade & Soul, at least, about which NCsoft has said absolutely nothing in regards to the Western market. So for today's poll, let's assume that you have to choose between ArcheAge and Blade & Soul. The Westernization gods will only allow of one of them to make it out of Korea in our lifetime, and it's up to you to decide which it'll be! Would you rather play XL's ginormous fantasy sandpark or do you prefer NCsoft's martial arts fantasy title? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Achievements vs. titles
I've never been much of an achievement fan when it comes to video games. To me, achievements are a cheap and easy way for devs to pretend like they've added content to an MMO, all the while exploiting the completist gene that seems present in a pretty high percentage of the gamer population. Oddly, though, I love character titles. It doesn't matter if it's a crafting title, an adventuring title, or some sort of fluffy fishing-related title like the Lord of the Rings Online honorific in the screenshot above. I typically go after every title available to a given avatar in a given game, even though more often than not the mechanics are the same sort that underlie most achievement systems! What about you, Massively readers? Achievements or titles? Or both? Or neither? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What was the best year for MMOs?
So, it's like, 2014. Happy New Year or something. Let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the MMO genre's more notable years. Maybe you're partial to 1999, since it gave us Asheron's Call and EverQuest. How about 2001, which introduced Anarchy Online, World War II Online (now known as Battleground: Europe), and Dark Age of Camelot? Don't forget 2003, which featured the launches of Star Wars: Galaxies, EVE Online, PlanetSide, Shadowbane, and A Tale in the Desert, just to name a few. Oh, OK, we probably shouldn't forget 2004 either, since it brought us World of Warcraft, EverQuest II, and City of Heroes. My point is, there are plenty of choices when it comes to picking great MMO years. What about the best year in terms of MMO launches, though? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What's the best MMO design decision of all time?
Last week we stirred up some discussion by asking Massively readers for their opinions on the worst MMO design decisions of all time. In the interests of fair play, and because of today's peace-on-earth-and-goodwill-toward-men Christmas thing, we thought it prudent to ask for the opposite opinion. So, how about it? What's the best MMO design decision of all time? It's kind of a broad question, we know, so In lieu of the traditional Leaderboard voting options, feel free to write in your answers. Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What's the worst MMO design decision of all time?
Naoki Yoshida has spoken, and it seems as if Final Fantasy XIV players can take or leave the title's exorbitantly expensive free company housing. The fan outcry surrounding this particular brouhaha has been considerable, so much so that I'm reminded of other game company gaffes that elicited howls of protest from all corners of a particular fandom. While it's a bit of a stretch to compare FFXIV's housing debacle to the likes of, say, the NGE, it's not a stretch to ask which MMO design decision tops your list as the worst of all time. Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: How many same-genre MMOs can you play at once?
I have a hankering for Vanguard. I don't know why, other than it's one of those MMOs that I've always enjoyed despite playing it rather infrequently. This hankering is problematic, though, because I'm already dabbling in Final Fantasy XIV, Lord of the Rings Online, and an offline RPG. All of these games have a fantasy bent, and when you couple that with the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day, I'm sure you can understand my dilemma. Failing some sort of uber-MMO that manages to combine all of the best features from each of these titles, I guess I'll just have to pick one for a primary game and glance longingly at the also-rans every now and again. What about you, Massively readers? How many same-genre MMOs can you play at the same time? Two? Three? None? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What will Star Citizen's final crowdfunding tally be?
Star Citizen fans continue to throw money at Cloud Imperium Games. The space sim sandbox has cleared nearly two million dollars in additional funding this week and is well on its way to a $35 million war chest. Where it finally stops is anyone's guess, at this point. Well, actually, it's your guess because that's the subject of this week's Leaderboard. Do you see Star Citizen breaking the $40 million barrier? $50 million? Let us know what you think after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Do you play around with game development tools?
For some reason that I can't quite fathom, I now have the Unreal Development Kit installed on my computer. I'm certainly no developer, nor would I make much of a designer I'm afraid, but something nonetheless compelled me to download the toolset and muck about with its documentation and various tutorials. Call it curiosity, or boredom, or whatever you like, really, but there it is. What about you, Massively readers? Do you play around with game development tools (assuming that you're not really a developer), or does your obsession only extend to finished games? Let us know after the cut. Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: What do you play on patch day?
I was as surprised as anyone to see SOE drop DC Universe Online's GU31 patch yesterday. It's not that the patch itself was a surprise, of course, but the timing was unexpected. Fortunately for me, I have other hobbies -- not to mention 1,138 other games. In the late 1990s, though, when I was a wee lad and there were like three MMOs in existence (only one of which I wanted to play), unexpected patches could be quite vexing. So, how about you, Massively readers? What do you play when your favorite MMO is down for the patch day count? Or do you actually go outside or something? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Are you giving WAR an in-game send-off?
Sigh. Warhammer Online. It's hard to believe the title is over five years old, but sadly it's not hard to believe that its days are numbered. The powers-that-be have opened the free-to-play floodgates for the last few weeks of the game's life, and while I haven't felt the urge to log in yet and run around for old times' sake, I may get there before the end. What about you, Massively readers? Are you going to give WAR an in-game send-off? Let us know after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Why do you avoid sandboxes?
I'm pretty excited about Black Desert. It's a sandbox, for one thing. It's gorgeous, for another. Unfortunately I'll probably be playing it sans my usual MMO friends because it features open PvP. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the lazy, toothless PvP implementations that typify sandbox MMOs, but I also don't avoid interesting games because of them. What about you, Massively readers? Is there a certain feature that keeps you from playing or enjoying sandbox MMOs? Vote and discuss after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Leaderboard: Which MMO has the best player housing?
I'm a big fan of player housing. If you're not, well, you should be. OK, not really, but you may want to skip this here Leaderboard if you typically roll your eyes when the topic comes up. Assuming you do like player housing, there are plenty of flavors to choose from scattered across the MMOverse, and a couple more interesting implementations on the way. For now, though, let's limit ourselves to housing in already-released games. Which system do you like the best? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
