Posts by Brooke Pilley at Massively

Brooke Pilley

Aion 1.5.1 patch additions receive an overwhelming "Meh"

by Brooke Pilley Nov 9th 2009 (2 hours ago)

NCsoft

The latest additions to Aion's 1.5.1 patch notes illustrate the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" reality that is MMO development. They also show a potential communication disconnect between the game's players and developers or possibly even unrealistic expectations. Upon reading the pages and pages of player comments on these patch note additions, the general opinion can be summarized as such: "These changes don't address our major complaints."

There's no doubt that 1.5.1 will greatly improve Aion (less grind anyone?), but players seem to be sticking on a few major points that aren't yet in the tentative patch notes. Most of the players commenting on these notes seem to feel that Aion's first big patch should tackle the crashing fortresses issue (crysys.dll), flying spiritmaster pets, better UI customization, and a number of other issues (less grind included). There also appears to be resistance to a new debuff that will be added to aether extraction. Players will now be randomly debuffed when gathering, but can quickly remove it by typing a captcha. This change is obviously aimed at bots, but many state this will become an annoyance for everyone.

Check out our summary of part one of the patch notes and AionSource's interview with NCsoft's Lani Blazier to get a comprehensive view of the situation.

Are subscription game item shops the third Trammel?

by Brooke Pilley Nov 8th 2009 (23 hours ago)

We like to keep our ear to the blogging (under)ground here at Massively because we often find interesting ideas and perspectives on the MMO industry. For instance, Green Armadillo of Player vs. Developer (PvD) just made a bold yet insightful statement about subscription game item shops being the third Trammel. For those unfamiliar, Trammel changed the way most people played Ultima Online and could be considered a paradigm shift in the industry from "harsh" PvP-enabled MMOs to safer PvE.

It's no secret that the rise of microtransactions and MMO item shops (aka real money trading or RMT) are a big change in direction from traditional subscription based MMOs. However, it now seems we're seeing the line blur between the two. Dungeons & Dragons Online, Champions Online, and most recently World of Warcraft are all subscription-based MMOs with built-in RMT. Are we witnessing the birth of the third Trammel?

As for the second Trammel, PvD calls out WoW's solo quest system. Never in any previous MMO did players enjoy such easy soloability and it seems that every triple-A MMO since WoW has relied heavily upon the solo quest system. We think PvD may be on to something here.

The Daily Grind: Are you still playing a September MMO?

by Brooke Pilley Nov 6th 2009 (3 days ago)

Champions Online

NCsoft

Turbine

September 2009 saw the release of Champions Online, Dungeons & Dragons: Eberron Unlimited (an older MMO going F2P), Fallen Earth, and Aion. This was easily the busiest month for MMOs in recent memory and we're sure many of you at least picked up one of them to try out. We're curious to know if you're still playing a September MMO just over a month later. If so or if not, why?

No MMO in the history of MMOs has experienced a perfectly smooth launch and these September titles were no exception. Did the action-packed combat of CO pull you in or did the lack of content push you away? Were you awed by DDO-EU's polished suite of tools or annoyed by the limitations put on free accounts? Was Fallen Earth's post-apocalyptic setting a breath of fresh air or did you choke on a mouthful of radioactive bugs? Did the beauty and smoothness of Aion make your heart beat faster or did its grind and bot infestation crush your soul? Just how impressed were you with September's crop of new MMOs?

Warhammer Online interim city siege fixes

by Brooke Pilley Nov 5th 2009 (3 days ago)

WAR

Mythic

Mythic has been pulling out all stops lately in an effort to improve Warhammer Online. One of their latest changes was to remove fortresses from the RvR campaign equation because many players found them to be a laggy and boring hurdle to be overcome. Doing so, however, had a predictable result: Cities were sieged much more often. While Mythic was acutely aware this would happen, they didn't have measures in place to handle an "all city siege all the time" situation. Today, Andy Belford announced a suite of interim city fixes.

Check out the official forums for the complete run-down. A few notables include: The durations of stage 1 and 2 city siege have been cut in half, many parts of the city are no longer tied to city rank, city rank recovers much more quickly, and the Reikland Factory and Twisting Tower scenarios are making a comeback to provide those not engaged in city siege with something to do.

Many players and bloggers have pointed out that these fixes only address the symptoms and not the core issues related to WAR's RvR campaign. Andy was quick to mention that these are only initial changes and more will be coming (e.g., the Underdog system). Testing of these changes should begin next week so keep your eyes on the Herald.

Scott Jennings MMO interview prep

by Brooke Pilley Nov 5th 2009 (4 days ago)

It looks like Scott "Lum the Mad" Jennings started up a new column over at MMORPG.com granting players a rare peek behind the MMO industry curtain. His first article covers some of the things you can expect to be confronted with if you are ever lucky enough to land a game designer interview with an MMO studio. Given the competitive job market out there, these insights should not be taken lightly, even though they are just one man's opinion. But what a man!

No, we're not talking about his wild charisma and manly beard. Okay, that too, but Lum has been around the MMO block in various roles from programmer to lead designer. Put simply, his advice is valuable. The biggest point he made that stuck out to us was the suggestion to have opinions and back them up. "[A]s a designer you are being paid, in large part, to have opinions. Your job will be to analyze parts of the game and determine whether it will work, how it can be broken, and whether or not it will be fun."

So, whether you're an aspiring game designer or simply interested in boosting your interview skills in general (not a bad idea in these trying times), we recommend you take a gander at Lum's new column.

Alganon open beta announced for November 11

by Brooke Pilley Nov 3rd 2009 (6 days ago)

If you were disappointed to hear of Alganon's recent delay until December 1, this news might cheer you up. We just received word that Alganon open beta is set to launch on Wednesday, November 11, 2009. This is a great opportunity to check out the game for yourself rather than taking other peoples' opinions for it. The client can be downloaded from a number of places including Direct2Drive, Fileplanet, MMORPG.COM, Curse, and the Alganon and MyAlganon websites.

If our previous closed beta key giveaways are any indication of the interest in this new title, open beta should receive a hefty amount of player attention. If you're already in the beta, Quest Online seems to have made a number of improvements across the board that should make for a better gaming experience. We recently caught up with president and co-founder, David Allen, for an interview, so feel free to give it a read while you wait until next Wednesday.

Details for Aion's new Veteran Rewards Program

by Brooke Pilley Oct 31st 2009 (9 days ago)

NCsoft

We probably don't need to point out the glaring congruity that each month you play Aion will soon be rewarded with four XP boost amulets; but we will. NCsoft just spilled the beans on their new Veteran Rewards Program. This seems slightly ironic because the game has only been out for a month. We suppose it's probably a good strategy to entice players to stick around; especially after an MMO's first month, which is arguably the rockiest.

Players will now receive special items for each month they remain subscribed to Aion. Months one to six award four Lodas Amulets (20% bonus XP for one hour) and four Revival Stones (self/player resurrection). Additionally, month one gives a cube expansion ticket (+1 free row) and a special Michael Jackson dance emote. Month three grants an extra title (Adept of Aion ) and another Forbidden Dance emote. Month six gives players special level 40 Black Cloud wings.

The disclaimer states that NCsoft can expand, revise, or end the Veteran Rewards Program at any time. With the first six months plotted out, it seems likely they will continue as the game soars ahead. Check out the official description page for full details on how to qualify.

Mythic removes time limit on WAR free trial

by Brooke Pilley Oct 30th 2009 (9 days ago)

WAR

Mythic

Warhammer Online's October newsletter just arrived in our mailboxes and its full of frothy WAAAGH!. Predominantly featured are the 1.3.2 updates, which most of us already know about including the removal of fortresses, a new keep difficulty system, client performance improvements, and of course, the New User Journey. Check out the video podcast with producers Jeff Skalski and Josh Drescher for a full run down.

A couple interesting bits stuck out for us. First, as Werit points out, Mythic has removed the 10-day time limitation on their free trial. Players can now experience all of what tier one has to offer without worrying about a looming deadline. This should work out quite nicely with the New User Journey. We also noticed the release of a new Warhammer-themed living card game by Fantasy Flight Games called Warhammer Invasion. This should be of interest to those who just can't get enough order or destruction in their day.

Finally, you should come back in one hour for our exclusive GameX interview with Matt Shaw and James Casey as they discuss the free trial and explain their decisions behind the 1.3.2 changes.

Last chance to upgrade Aion from standard to collector's edition

by Brooke Pilley Oct 28th 2009 (11 days ago)

NCsoft

If you've been holding off on upgrading your standard edition version of Aion to the full-fledged collector's edition, now's your last chance. NCsoft is extending the upgrade window by only 48 more hours from Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 12:01 a.m. PDT to Friday, October 30, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. (Check the time in your area.) Here are the in-game goodies you'll receive for a $10 USD upgrade fee:

Black Cloud Wings (gives 40 seconds of additional flight time)
Black Cloud Earring (gives an HP and an MP boost)
Special character title (Settler of Aion) with stat boost
Rich purple dye to tint 10 in-game items
Two character emotes

The original upgrade period ended a bit earlier than NCsoft intended due to an interneal error, which is why they are extending it until this Friday (or Saturday depending on where you live). Keep your eye on the NCsoft store if you don't want to miss out on this limited time offer. It's actually a pretty good deal because the price difference between the pre-launch standard and collector's editions was up to $20 USD depending on the merchant.

Nate Levy explains WAR's action point fix

by Brooke Pilley Oct 27th 2009 (12 days ago)

WAR

Mythic developers just fixed a major bug ~~that has been~~ in Warhammer Online ~~since launch~~ and it's having a big impact on players. Action points (AP) are the one-size-fits-all resource used to cast spells, perform damage attacks, and tank. Suffice to say, a change to the way AP works affects every class in the game. This bug fix makes it take a little longer for AP to regenerate as originally intended.

Many players claim that the time-to-kill in beta was much higher than it turned out at release, and while a dozen or more variables play a part in this (e.g., better gear, higher crit rates, newer strategies, etc.), AP regen can be counted among them. You see, after ~~the game released~~ game update 1.3.1 came out, players had a nearly limitless AP pool. In fact, AP regen potions were useless aside from getting a quick boost after sprinting. This led to many players getting in the habit of button-mashing their abilities without fearing a complete AP drain.

Now that the issue has been corrected, there's been a bit of an outcry from players who have become accustomed to playing WAR not as intended ~~for over a year~~. Mythic stresses that this change is for the better but will continue to monitor the situation and adjust accordingly. Check out Nate Levy's developer diary for all the details.

Update: This bug was discovered in 1.3.1 but we are unsure of when it originally made its way into the game. We apologize for jumping to conclusions based on our own experiences.