Grind vs Fun - The Guild Wars 2 Debate

Having finished up a brief, but fruitful stint in Guild Wars 2, I wanted to review a few things I noted while playing. No doubt you will read many blog sites expounding upon combat, adventures, story. etc. I think I want to look at something that GW2 throws out the window.

How you play your MMO.

Something that you will never see in Guild Wars 2 is a full quest log. The flow of adventure as you move from one area to the next seems natural and endearing. You have the typical area in your UI where quests show up...but, you will always only have the MAIN persistent quest. Unlike most MMO's which have you go from place to place filling up your quest log, and trying to tackle them, GW2 will flash your screen where quests appear, and assign duties there. You will normally see a completion bar, and when it fills, you are done with that area. These usually fill up "hearts" and then reward Karma.

Again, you can read game sites, etc, to know more of how this works and what these naming conventions mean.

For myself and the family who MMO's, this felt organic. We just looked at our maps, and decided we should just run around, investigate the areas and let what come work its way to us naturally. Sometimes major events would happen, like in Rift, which would show up in your quest area, and you could see a major rush of people to get to that area. These were major situations, and eventually we would see many people dying.

Speaking of which, lets talk death. The unique system of trying to fight while fallen, and having other players help you back up is incredible. But, more than that, the fact people actually ENJOYED helping you back up...this really led to more "community" like situations. I mean, aren't you going to remember that person who helped you back up, as the fight raged on? But, as well, the reward system for doing this was a nice touch (get some XP, maybe some Karma....that was great).

GW2 is not easy. Period. So, expect to die a lot.

Seems most of the MMO's of late have held our hands way too long. I died more in GW2 than any other MMO of the last few years (and that was just over the weekend). And some of those deaths could have been prevented if I was better at my class. THAT speaks volumes of how the game will play out. The original Guild Wars was never a cake walk, and GW2 carries on that tradition.

Note my words: I could have prevented. The fact I do NOT need to rely on others to heal me, but at the same point, classes have skills that can offer "boons" to others around them with heals, defense, etc...this synergy was in effect so much as I played.

Finally, as we mention synergy, I want to talk about the guilds in Guild Wars 2. What a unique aspect of this game. All of your characters have the right to join the first guild you join...this was cool. BUT, you also did not have to join. The systems in place for upgrades to the guild was really neat. I did not have much time to play with it, but there seems to be a lot we can do, without being forced to be in groups together...everyone contributes. And in regards to groups, the whole "Stay in a party, even if logged out" was a god send. I could leave for a while, come back and log on with my family, and still be in the group with them. Awesome.

GW2 really takes a lot of conventions we're use to in MMO's and really shakes it up. Any hater who says GW2 is the same as any other MMO is just that...trolling for attention. There is just too much to enjoy here, where going back to the old way of MMO's will be hard. We will see when I attempt to go back to Rift after my vacation.

I know Guild Wars 2 may be a way off, but all I know is when it does launch, it will be a ways off before I leave that world.

Guild Wars 2 Site of the Day

Just a quick post...

For those who played Guild Wars 1 and want to see what nostalgia Guild Wars 2 will share...check out this blog

Project Tyria

What happened to the world of Guild Wars 1 in the latest installment? Take a gander at these comparisons.

Cheers

A Tale of Two Guild Sites..

Greetings...

It was the best of times....it was even better times....and then it got REAL!

Barring my plagiaristic opener, times are awesome. Coming off a great opening experience in the Guild Wars 2 stress test, doing a bit of single player gaming, my job settling in, and progress moving forward on the two game guild setup for Simple Complexities, 2012 is looking up for the "Family who games" household.

As some of my fellow guildies from Rift may have noticed, I have started playing with new logos for the guild on our website at Guildlaunch. I am incorporating the two game logos into our banner. Both Rift and Guild Wars 2 are the games of choice going forward, and I cannot wait to join my old friends from Simple Complexities. So much so that this morning I logged into the "trial" version of my Rift account to goof off with my lowbie Defiant.

A return will soon be at hand.

As to the 2 game guild, I just wanted to update everyone on how the guild sites will work.

First up, I do NOT plan to take the current site and convert it to Guild Wars 2. There is too much data there for Rift. Plus, we need a way to separate the guilds from both games, for those who are not interested in GW2.

Thus, welcome to the new guildlaunch site at SimpleNComplex.

Next, as many may notice, I have started to play with our banner for the site. I already have the banner on our main Rift site updated. My ultimate goal is that the game the site is for will have a large logo of the main game, but the other game will be represented. So, looking at the current Rift site, I will make adjustments and have the Rift logo be LARGE and GW2 logo small. Then vice versa for the GW2 guild site.

As to Facebook, I plan to centralize posts there between BOTH games. Facebook will act as our centralized news source for both games. Twitter will also come into play...more on that soon.

As of this time, Gilraden is truly the main lead for the Rift faction of SC (thanks mate). I will be in charge of the GW2 faction. Gil really did a great job taking charge, and he has been in cohorts with several long time members. I appreciate all of their work.

So, on that note...I have a lot of work to do, so I better get to it. Cheers readers and Cheers fellow SC members...

Guild Wars 2 Slideshow

Hope you enjoy a few screens I caught while in Monday's stress test.

Testing my stress - Guild Wars 2

Yesterday was the Guild Wars 2 stress test. And stressing it was, to quote my inner Yoda.

There is no doubt that GW2 offers something special in gameplay. Right off the bat, you are thrown into learning movement, combat, talking, and more. That is...if you were not stuck at a load screen, dropping to desktop, etc.

But, as I noted, I would not let myself get worked up about testing GW2. If anything, it allowed me to see some of my Xbox 360 controls to mess around with. I need to do some more configuring, but overall, mapping worked per most of my MMO's.

I did not get far, but that is OK. My goal was to test settings, help Arenanet test the game...and of course, get that first look. Heck, within 15 minutes, I was in one zone and the music kicked up...and a wave of nostalgia hit. I got the biggest smile possible, and was overjoyed at remembering all I loved about my original launch days in GW1. They have totally grasped the feeling of the original game with the beautiful music.

One aspect that I truly enjoyed is how they gradually brought you new skills as you used you main skills. Another bit of true gaming fun was the fact that though I had a main goal in the game, as I walked around, events would show up, and off I went, all A.D.D as I tried to do each little quest. The "no streamlined questing" thing is perfect for how I want to play now. No more rigid, funneled questing.

I took some screenies, and will post those soon. Not a lot of them, but, as I said...load screen lockups, dropped connections and overall messing in settings all led to just a taste of what is in store....and it is good indeed.

PS: A true sign of what gaming will be like on launch is how the wife enjoys character creation...and let me just say, she is in love with it. We will be gaming our butts off when GW2 launches.

Now...when is that next beta event???

Beta tester...ugh

So, recently, I stepped into the shoes of "Beta Tester" again for a specific game I cannot mention. I was very excited to be doing this...

But...

What happens when you just do not enjoy the game being tested? I really want to do my part and help them improve on this unique title...but, after 30 minutes, the pleasure of the title just did not....please.

This leads me back to Guild Wars 2 and why I have NOT done the beta test.

Will I be disappointed? (as you may have guessed, the game I am testing is NOT GW2)

So, this past weekend we finally purchased our Digital Collector's editions of GW2 (the whole family...which led to a very large one time purchase...). This means we CAN step into the world of GW2 come next beta event.

But, should we?

My son will...no matter what. This will not bother me. Well, OK, it may. As he will be playing, I will not be able to avoid seeing the game in action. But, I have seen so many videos, write-ups and screenshots...that I feel I have been to Tyria. So, will his playing entice me, or make me force him away?

Should I login as well? And should we ALL login so we can test class aspects?

I really want that feeling of returning to the wonder of Guild Wars. It has been our best MMO experience ever. And GW2 I feel can match that with a new way of playing an MMO.

So, I sit and wonder after this failed experiment of beta testing, if I should even think of GW2 beta. I am assured of loving it, but I believe I should hold until launch, and thus moving past the disappointment of issues that could crop up.

Oh the pain...

I Did NOT Play The Guild Wars 2 Beta...

Because I really want to be surprised...and happy.

The complaints of "lag" and issues logging in let me know that I would NOT have been happy this past weekend. But, more than that, the feeling of awe and wonder in the game I have been waiting for could be mind numbingly awesome...

..............If I just wait...

So, I hope those who did take the time to log in enjoyed themselves. I did hear great stuff from those who did get in...and that is good news.

For me though, Guild Wars 2 is a sure thing. Why ruin the expectations by dealing with the issues...I am sure there is 5.9 million other players who can test the mess for me, and get it working top notch for MY early start.

So, this ones for you early adopters...fix the game please, and help ME enjoy myself to the fullest extent!

The Beta's Weekend - The Sub Dilemma

Over the past weekend I had a chance to goof off in both TERA and Diablo 3. Since I am making a concerted effort to get back to gaming, I figured new stuff would be the right way to go.

TERA was first up. Not a true typical MMO, but an MMO none the less.

The action combat was the selling point. It does deliver. I appreciated the ability to use my Xbox 360 controller (which had some minor weird mapping issues). I always use a piece of software called Xpadder to play all of my MMO's with the controller. To have it built in to the game was great.

Aiming could be a problem at times, as you need to watch a reticule on your screen. It would change from silver to gray (and become slightly thicker) to let you know the skill would work on the target.

Yea...silver to gray.

Some classes also felt sluggish because of this aiming feature. Any melee class became troublesome as you ran after mobs or avoided their attacks. I would then get confused as I was learning the odd mapping. (Some skills would be on a button, yet one would work with a trigger...etc. Just did not flow well).

But, eventually I got used to it. Made some adjustments and I was good to go.

After about 2 hours in, it was after my 5th or 6th fetch/kill 10x quest that I eventually lost interest. It just did not feel like enough to me for a sub. I also got this feeling that a "sub" based game may not be right for me anymore. What with my schedule, being so full with work and life, my gaming is minimal if existent at all.

This really hit home when I tried Diablo 3. I had my wife and son join along with me on this ride...and it was a win. We were struck by the simplicity; dropping in and playing an hour or so to have fun; the camaraderie as we discussed our drops together and did trades...and how we handled fights was great.

We argued a lot less than when we are in MMO mode. It seems the stress of getting stuff done in groups with others would cause more stress for all of us. The "you must tank or heal" attitudes always led to in home strife. Here, we only needed to rely on each other.

This started me thinking of our future game...Guild Wars 2...and how THAT has no sub as well. I then started discussing using what would have been our monthly fee for the "cash shop" as a stipend. As to grouping, thanks to the "no trinity" system of GW2 combat (which, btw, when you think of it...Diablo 3 is the same), it is believed that we can leave the stress of "who is healing...who is tanking" issues behind us.

This past weekends beta's were a real eye opener in the next phase of my gaming lifestyle. Guess I need to apologize to my Rift'ers of Simple Complexities, as at this time I do not expect to step back into that game.

What has been your outlook on the monthly sub versus free games (or buy the box, then play as you wish type of gaming)?

Guild Wars 2 - Take a "Free" ride...

As of late I have been watching the stories of success in regards to the "Free to play" initiatives most MMO's have been taking. With Everquest, of all games, gaining an audience, it just seems foolish to not go this route now.

I know, I know...some people hate the idea of purchasing all of the little items to help their character grow. I do not have an issue with this. If anything, what this really boils down to is PvE vs PvP when it comes to the "Pay to win" descriptions we see thrown around.

So, looking at games which still have not gone the way of the Free, like Warhammer Online, makes me feel remorse for their losses (down to one server? WTF people....go FREE and be ready to turn back on those lost servers and get more players....and revenue again).

So, how is GW2 approaching this? I have not looked into it too much, but I always appreciated the "Buy once, free forever" style of game. Let me pay for expansions, addons, etc....but, one price for the box is awesome.

Lets review the Microtransaction system for GW2...

A great post here with some straight forward data. We see...

"In Guild Wars 2 we have three currencies: gold, karma, and gems. Gold is the common in-game currency. Karma, which players earn in-game but cannot trade, is used for unique rewards. And gems are the currency that’s bought and used to purchase microtransactions."


Interesting that just three variations of "money" will exist. One thing that started to get difficult in Rift was the currency system. It got out of control actually...with each event having a new currency item. Each raid tier started using new forms of payment...it was insane. GW2 seems nice and simple.

"MMO veterans will note the similarities of our system to EVE Online’s PLEX system. As in that case, our system takes gold trading out of the hands of real-money trading (RMT) companies and puts it directly in the hands of players."

Though I am personally not a fan of EVE, something always touted as a singular system of both discussion and derision has been the PLEX system. How do you feel about it?

This though is the best quote...

"If you want something, whether it’s an in-game item or a microtransaction, you ultimately have two ways to get it: you can play to earn gold or you can use money to buy gems. We think that’s important, because it lets more players participate on a level playing field, whether they use their free time or their disposable income to do it." 


A sore point all along has been players attitudes towards those who have all the time in the world, or all the cash in the world to do with as they wish. Well, now each type of player has the ability to purchase as they want. This will be important down the road towards leveling the playing field.

Of course, Massively has an article on the many pitfalls of such a system. Check that here...

Bots, RMT stealing, the infamous "Pay 2 win" terminology all play key roles in this system falling down.

Until we see it in action, we will not know how this will play out. The entry price and then no monthly fee though will attract a much larger audience than most MMO's, and I predict a large sell out of this game off the bat...all because of the single player game pricing scheme.

As to being free, to do what I want, any ole time...in GW2, I couldn't be happier.

Transitioning

Working hard....trying to get all arranged to start blogging once again.

It has been a long, strange trip since last I posted here. I took off due to gaming becoming my central focus (which is quite funny, seeing I write about gaming).

Rift really took up all of my time.

I was in charge of the guild Simple Complexities, which became a haven for the casual MMO'er, Raider, PvP'er... We were quite strict about who joined, yet left our home open for anyone that was older, had a family, or a real life...

It really worked. I made some great new friends, who I miss dearly, and am ready to game with again.

It was at the end of 2011 that tragedy struck, as I lost my job. We were prepared, but knew cost cutting had to take effect. As well, my time became limited. I had to pull back on the leadership of SC, and due diligence found me work a month going in.

That really hit me hard though. The job was quite difficult. I had to be trained, I was on the road a lot...

And I still am quite busy, but I know what I am doing now, and my time is almost my own once again.

And it was with the pre-order call to Guild Wars 2, that I knew it was time to return.

For those who would like to know, you may remember, I was diagnosed with Graves Disease over a year ago. I am medicated, and life has been looking up. I will be going for my final test on that next month, and if it is clear, I can stop taking the meds.

So, overall, life is good...and with GW2 around the corner, and a gaggle of awesome people from SC ready to all get together again...I am excited once more to game.

I hope you will join me here on this little adventure.

The Return....

Soon, I will be back. I plan to change this site over to a complete Guild Wars 2 discussion.

Hope you all missed me...

If you didn't ...well, go look at some X-Fire charts, as I'm busy!

Moving out...

But, not moving on.

I wanted a way to micro-manage my thoughts, while still semi blogging. Seems my brain cannot work well with the thought of sitting down and having to write so many words to form thoughts I have, which fit within 140 characters on Twitter. Whether this is a concern of Graves Disease...or just my overall business in my life (Work, Family, RIFT!!!)

So, may I introduce my Posterous blog - Simple-N-Complex

A more fitting name could not be welcomed in respects to how I will post on the new site.

So, I will be looking to play with this for a while and see if I can continue to write, and keep my commentary within reach of my capabilities at this time...

Make sure to bookmark, and of course, follow me on Twitter at Elementalistly!

Cheers

X-Fire Game: Raptr has left the building...

So it is, with glee, that I say goodbye today to Raptr.

Thanks to a new system in place this past week converting Raptr into a news style RSS feed service, data for games has been lost in the shuffle. But, as I said...happiness ensues. The numbers have been a thorn in my foot due to calculations showing oddities not matching the norm. Like when a game has anecdotal evidence, like free play time or trials and then having losses on Sunday, while Saturdays being higher in player counts; Raptr just fell apart.

So, using X-Fire's data, hopefully we can take time to discuss why games are changing in numbers. Better commentary on the state of the current MMO's should help us understand why the game is ranking where it is.

So, lets get to this weeks numbers. Previous rating comparisons are from 5/16/2011.

1. Rift - 2835 ( 3325 ↓ )
2. EvE Online - 2159 ( 2005 ↑ )
3. Aion - 2039 ( 1988 ↑ )
4. Lord of the Rings Online - 1623 ( 1800 ↓ )
5. Age of Conan - 402 ( 287 ↑ )
6. Dungeons & Dragons Online - 288 ( 277 ↑ )
7. Star Trek Online - 279 ( 327 ↓ )
8. Champions Online - 182 ( 217 ↓ )
9. Warhammer Online - 139 ( 133 ↑ )
10. Final Fantasy XIV - 119 ( 112 ↑ )
11. DC Universe - 32 ( 57 ↓ )

Lets start with our mover shaker award this week. 

Age of Conan takes a major jump and lands in the top 5 this week. Thanks to promotions about the movie tie ins, free account restoration for older players and the final piece of free to play coming down the pipe...AoC may just start to look good on the charts and become a winner.

Rift took a small plunge, but as has been happening...week by week Rift fluctuates. The numbers are still tops to make it our number 1 game.

EvE had some major movement in numbers this week. One report though is CCP is fighting a bot infestation, so not sure if the major jump is real. The fact they were at around 1900 last weekend is suspect. Still good to hold number 2.

Aion continues to climb. Patch 2.5 is here with the graphical upgrades, and reactivations were also key here. As a side note, I did get an email from Nvidia offering me a FREE copy of the game AND 15 days (odd, I know). So, not sure how many will try that offer.

Lord of the Rings Online has been showing some losses the last few X-Fire games, so not sure what is happening. Maybe the koolaid is wearing off? A recent update should have shown growth here, so it is confusing. Of course it could be a client issue, and the game runs like crap with X-Fire on...hard to say. I will continue to watch this one, as this has proven to be of interest.

Star Trek Online and Champions Online both fell. Wonder if this has anything to do with the news about Cryptic being flushed by Atari? We will continue to watch this and see if any repercussions are to be felt.

This weeks big loser is DC Universe. How SOE can even recover from the damage of their hacks is beyond me. I for example would never touch another of their products. But, people are odd...especially MMO players, so we will see if DCUO can recover.

*****

It was a holiday weekend, but seems numbers did not move that much. Overall steadiness in most titles, but a few surprises as well.

Lest we forget...the elephant in the room, lets see how Blizzards monkey on everyones back is doing.

World of Warcraft X-Fire chart May 30th - players  31,533 (33,787 ↓ )

That is a bit of a drop. Again, may be the weekend or is the behemoth finally showing signs? Hard to say. The fact growth was shown after the initial Rift launch, this may just be a holiday fluke.

Overall, our main games hold strong. Rift still rocking the new launch, Aion and Eve both growing and Age of Conan showing that it could still have life.

Can't wait to see how this all plays out over the summer.

Cheers for now.

The X-Fire Game: Trial (s) and Errors

What a great title for this weeks X-Fire game.

Trials due to Rift's push to be the best #2 MMO out there, and SOE's error and their progress to be the lowest dev on the totem pole.

The previous results we're comparing are from the weekend of 5/1/2011 - Lets see how the 2 weeks have changed.

1. Rift - 3325 ( 2973 ↑ )
2. EvE Online - 2005 ( 1928 ↑ )
3. Aion - 1988 ( 1929 ↑ )
4. Lord of the Rings Online - 1800 ( 1859 ↓ )
5. Star Trek Online - 327 ( 345 ↓ )
6. Age of Conan - 287 ( 280 ↑ )
7. Dungeons & Dragons Online - 277 ( 324 ↓ )
8. Champions Online - 217 ( 235 ↓ )
9. Warhammer Online - 133 ( 155 ↓ )
10. Final Fantasy XIV -112 ( 122 ↓ )
11. DC Universe -  57 ( 25 ↑ )

First off, nice job to Rift. The upswing this week is something most of the MMO's from the last few years have NOT been able to do. New content, new updates, new trials all add up to a game that is flourishing.

Looking at the graph for Rift, we can see the standard drop most MMO's experience. But, we also see a stabilization there. Then the upswing toward the end. Will see how this looks in two weeks.

Other games of note: EVE broke 2000. First time in a while. Aion over takes Lord of the Rings Online to become this weeks #3. Excitement must be building for Aion thanks to the paid transfer service and the upcoming patch 2.5 with major graphics enhancements and new content.

I really need to note here: Sub games are NOT dead, and Free to play, though a help to games suffering, is not the panacea of sub-dom some believe it to be. Just IMO.

Age of Conan has also moved up the charts. Major buzz is going on with this game, with the upcoming movie reboot, discussion of new land masses and overall satisfaction with the new engine changes. We will watch this one in the coming months.

SOE games are back, but of course, DC Universe still trails the bottom. But, note more players. I assume that free time is helping. Not going to help much when someones ID is stolen though. 

Overall quite a few games down this week.

****

1. Rift -  2366 ( 2394 ↓ ) players
2. EvE Online - 803 ( 1010 ↓ ) 
3. Lord of the Rings Online - 771 ( 766 ↑ )
4. Aion - 418 ( 530 ↓ )
5. Champions Online - 232 ( 192 ↑ )
6. DC Universe - 182 ( 136 ↑ )
7. Dungeons & Dragons Online - 167 ( 173 ↓ )
8. Final Fantasy XIV - 142 ( 191 ↓ )
9. Star Trek Online - 110 ( 96 ↑ )
10. Age of Conan - 83 ( 89 ↓ )
11. Warhammer Online - 56 ( 86 ↓ )

What drives me nuts right off the bat...Raptr has Rift with MORE players on a Saturday (2426)...I mean, WTH? Raptr and reliability of stats is really starting to irritate me. But, I will still post them....just expect me to bitch about them EVERY time also.

Ah well, lets take a look at what else is happening.

As we can see, Raptr still plays "Opposites" day of X-Fire with their stats. EVE and Aion are both down, yet LOTRO is up. Of note, like Rift, Aion is UP on Saturday...just down on Sunday, which has not been par for course for ANY game.

Champions is up? LOL. And look at how many slots DC Universe moved up. Interesting bunch of users, these Raptr players.

The biggest travesty here is Age of Conan. All anecdotal evidence points to a rise in activity, yet in Raptr it still runs at the bottom of the pack, with even a LOSS this week. Raptr is just not telling the full story here.

****

Before I forget, lets take a look at Blizzard and their beast of an MMO.

World of Warcraft X-Fire chart May 15th - players  33,787 (33,611 ↑ )

So, WoW is still on the rise back up. People just cannot let this game go, and it is truly sad to see no other game even has a chance.

Nuff' said here

****

So, some good numbers for several games, with Rift really showing it can hold on, and could be our number two game in MMO's for a while.

Raptr though is becoming suspect in tracking, and I am about ready to throw it out. It keeps having strikes against it in regards to how their numbers work. When games we know show anecdotal evidence of upswings, yet fall on Raptr...I have to question their systems. Time is ticking down for Raptr stats.

Until next time...Cheers.

Rift: CON-TENT

Continuing this series of articles on how Rift approaches aspects of gameplay compared to other MMO's. Today I am touching on content. What is it? Does Rift offer enough?

Like yesterday, I wanted to get an idea of what "content" means, so lets start with our Dictionary term. Note, this one is hard, as several terms could be used here...

"something that is contained: the contents of a box."

This first description is interesting, as it basically means ALL inclusion of items. If a box has a manual, a DVD, a map, etc...for an MMO, this is the boxes "contents". Does this work for what is IN the actual gameplay? What does content equal?

The BIG Twitter discussion of quite a few MMO heads had some variations on this topic.

Rowanblaze - "Yes I say "content" is the reason for doing something in-game. IOW, the story. Everything else is grind."

Adarel -"I think story is just one form of content though. The world is full of activities, all of which are content."

Ardwulf -"Even social tools can be content. Depends on the game."

Three different perspectives right off the bat. How does one player look at content as one item, yet another player requires differences in their game for it to equal "content"?

I had remarked how Rift had about as much content as WoW...after it's first expansion, which some would disagree with. Why is that? What MORE did WoW have at that time? A larger world? More "quests" and "dungeons"? I do not remember invasions on a regular basis in WoW. I do not remember Guild Leveling or Guild quests, shinies hunting...the list goes on.

But to me, this is a form of content.

If a player logs into the game, decides to shop on the Auction House, then will craft, then logs off....did they do content? Or did they do something else....features? mechanics?

Again, another perspective. What if the word meant something different...

How about we look at the meaning of "content" as another form of it's definition...

"satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else."

Here is where the game changer is. Is the player "content" with what the game offers. This I think describes our MMO's more than what the game gives you to do.

If there is not enough "content" (whats inside the box) then the player is not "content" (happy?). But, this is perspective. What one player will see as con-tent, another will not be cun-tent with.

Phentari stated "I dont know I think they are nuts, that means they ran out of new things to do including features"

"Features" was one word that was used to describe everything that had no "story" to it. Was it then that the player exhausted the "story" and the "features" would not make this player cun-tent?

A slippery slope here.

Lets use the latest news for Rift as our example of new "content" (according to Trion). A new event coming called "Spoils of War" prelude will be offering daily quests to gather various items to purchase unique items, etc.

Is that content?

"As the name implies, the Spoils of War is related to the River of Souls event. Telarans and the Ascended successfully overcame Alsbeth and her minions and now the rewards have arrived. The prelude offers players four new daily quests centered on the mysterious treasure-like items literally falling from the sky in some cases."

What is interesting here is it seems to be a standard "stuff to do" type of event, or features if you will...but also is a continuation of the story from the first big event Rift had, River of Souls. So, we have a story, but it is just "daily" questing to get items to get more items.

Content?

mythokia "Producers think they can get away with disguising dailies as new content."

Ouch, clearly mythokia thinks adding in dailies...even for a reason...is NOT new content.

Do we see the pattern? We can note that each player has their own opinion on what content is. Just look to that link about "Spoils" (and try not to burn your eyes out, thanks to the MMORPG readers commentary) and see what is being said...

"Just dumping a couple daily repeatable collection quests in the game you need to do a horrible amount of times and increasing the frequency of Rifts and call it a Live Event is not what I call original nor very attractive in my book.

Rift was great at launch. Very polished and fun to play for a short while.

But so far these so called live events just end up being nothing more than an ordinary boring grindfest!"

Yet...

"It sure beats other games. You don't have to wait, sometimes years, for content."

Within the first few postings, we see two varying viewpoints.

So, is Rift lacking in content? Or is a specific player not "cun-tent" to play what is offered.

As I saw on twitter, there was not an end to the conversation, and so many roads were taken by various players. But, it is clear...one mans junk is another's treasure. To even think there is not enough content in specific MMO's...especially Rift, is subjective to each players outlook.

I will use my family of an example of how Rift is approached each day.

My wife is the one who does the daily "shinies" hunt and craft runs. My son will login and is working on leveling, and feels questing is where the game is at. Myself, I feel running zone wide invasions, rifts and dungeons are fun (but, I try to do a little of EVERYTHING).

We are CONTENT to play with the CONTENT as it is...and just see another patch with more to do as even more fun to be had.

If only others could do the same.

Rift: DY-NA-MIC

After spending an awesome weekend running massive events in the various zones of Rift, I started to wonder about an issue. Several of us in the community (of bloggers) and, of course, the infamous "forums for haters" have had an ongoing discussion about Dynamics.

Does Rift really have dynamics?

I think mostly people are expecting something different from the actual word, and are not using it in proper context. Lets take a look at the word itself, and see where THAT leads us. If we head to Dictionary.com, I find this little bit of information.

"pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective action; vigorously active or forceful"

This is interesting. When we look upon the complaints of most, dynamics is suppose to harbor change. Nothing is indicating that "change" must take place. The actual meaning of the word describes Rift more readily, and shows just how dynamic the game can feel.

So, for something to be "dynamic" it is not that it has to change, or be UNIQUE or DIFFERENT...it must be an effective action. When an EVENT takes place zone wide, this is "forceful" and needs "effective action" to take care of or else it causes issues in the zone. When invasions happen a player must become "vigorously active" to take care of it. I could go on and on (for example, thanks to mob density in Rift compared to most MMO's, there is more vigorous activity than most games).

The facts remain. Rift is a more dynamic MMO than we have normally dealt with.

So, how did the concept of dynamics come down to something affecting the world we play in and must equal change to happen? When we look upon the descriptions for Guild Wars 2, a game being touted for it's changing world dynamics, we see...

"Dynamic events evolve and cascade across the world in response to how you, the player, interact with them,"

So, somehow, Arenanets description looks to "evolving", but not "changing".

Yet, Guild Wars 2 is one of the games most people look to for "Dynamic" events, because somehow it can "change" how the world works. But, GW2 does not really say major or even minor change is the key. It is the ripple effect. Something happens that leads to another...thus causing the dynamic gameplay.

Rift does have the same effect. The "ripple" from an event leads to hubs being shut down, roads overrun, specific quest areas being inaccessible due to rifts. These may happen regularly and may even be the same event from yesterday...but, is still "dynamic" enough to cause the "ripple" effect.

So, what about "scipting". This was one argument I read that really led me here...

"Yeah, really? DYNAMIC.....where is the dynamism? Is it those mushrooms that randomly pops here and there spewing out scripted npcs? "

Can a movie not be dynamic? Is it because a movie has a script that it is not dynamic? I would beg to differ on this and would see how a movie can be vigorously active. One sequence may be a car chase....but another may appear later on that has a different aspect to it (example: Bourne Movies - thanks Matt!). Is this not dynamic because it is the same thing; a car chase?

We need to look over all of the MMO's released to this day and see...How dynamic have they been? And just how dynamic is Rift compared to them?

When a game makes me drop everything and run to defend a hub, take down a major colossi or forces me to make a decision about the area I am questing in due to being blocked by a rift or foothold...this feels dynamic, to me. If I must do something that is NOT scheduled, how can that not be dynamic?

So, maybe the next time you wonder what is dynamic about Rift, lets look to what "dynamic" really means....and then we can see that Rift is truly (and hopefully) the first in a line of dynamic MMO's.

X-Fire Game: The one week reprieve

So, I am back with another installment of our much loved (hated?) game of statistics (voodoo?) using our all time favorite (reviled?) tools...X-Fire and Raptr.

From this point, I will pull back reporting these to maybe every two weeks. This should allow us to see if any drastic changes are happening in the market...and lets me try and write a bit more "commentary" (arguments) on a regular basis.

Lets get started. First off, all data listed is from two weeks ago and will be versus this Sunday's numbers.

(KEY: Click the logos to understand what X-Fire or Raptr is. For the symbols...↓ Means the game had a loss; ↑ and the game is in green text, means it had more players. Thank you.)

1. Rift - 2973 ( 3982 ↓ )
2. EvE Online - 1928 ( 2017 ↑ )
3. Lord of the Rings Online - 1859 ( 1892 ↑ )
4. Aion - 1929 ( 1878 ↑ )
5. Star Trek Online - 345 ( 287 ↑ )
6. Dungeons & Dragons Online - 324 ( 326 ↓ )
7. Age of Conan - 280 ( 245 ↑ )
8. Champions Online - 235 ( ?? ↑ )
9. Warhammer Online - 155 ( 130 ↑ )
10. Final Fantasy XIV - 122 ( 131 ↓ )
11. DC Universe -  25 ( 41 ↓ )

So, as we can see here, Rift still has not found the floor. What will it's actual ceiling be?

We could look at how drastic this loss is and do this little bit of fun...

World of Warcraft X-Fire chart April 18th - players  33,611 (32,822 ↑ )

And of course find out where most everyone went.

Rift does still have a large lead over the number 2 game, and with patch 1.2 coming in less than 2 weeks, I expect my next report to see some added player action.

The rise of players in other games were minimal (except for a few stand outs)...

Aion had a big jump. I could look at this as the bonus of "paid transfers". I also think accounts were activated over the weekend too (I got an email about it). So, this may most likely be temporary. Or is this a sign that the game may hold a few new subs?

Star Trek rocked some nice numbers, with a great leap, making it our #5 game on the chart.

Several; other small triumphs was Warhammer, who has been patching their screw ups recently, Champions client was fixed and is reporting again (last report, CO was broken and reporting ZERO players) and Age of Conan also seeing some numbers increasing.

A pretty good week for the games considered failures by a contingent of players.

****

1. Rift -  2394 ( 2705 ↓ ) players
2. EvE Online - 1010 ( 967 ↑ ) 
3. Lord of the Rings Online - 766 ( 751 ↑ )
4. Aion - 530 ( 457 ↑ )
5. Champions Online - 192 ( 225 ↓ )
6. Final Fantasy XIV - 191 ( 152 ↑ )
7. Dungeons & Dragons Online - 173 ( 159 ↑ )
8. DC Universe - 136 ( 179 ↓ )
9. Star Trek Online - 96 ( 101 ↓ )
10. Age of Conan - 89 ( 94 ↑ )
11. Warhammer Online - 86 ( 84 ↑ )

And as is normally the case, Raptr tells us a different story.

Rift's drop is not as harsh as for X-Fire. And if we look around we can see where some of these players are heading to.

Of course, Raptr is also BIZARRO world, where Final Fantasy XIV...probably the worst rated MMO in a long time, has a huge jump. Oddities indeed.

The one thing we can always count on here is our top 4 though. Rift, EvE, LOTRO and Aion seem to hardly budge from their respective slots. Rift as we can see here has over double what EvE is showing and EvE is almost doubling Aion's numbers.

I think we can safely say that players having such an abundance of MMO's have more places to go and play around in to try various new worlds.

****

Whats clear here is the hold World of Warcraft has over it's player base. Hard to pull players out and into other MMO's. With the news that most of the newer MMO's coming down the pipe, specifically Star Wars, a noted WoW killer, being too much like WoW...where does this leave the genre?

This report is pretty much a statement on the sad affairs of our market. We have quite a few good games here, but WoW truly holds sway over all of this domain, and could color the future of every MMO until someone decides "Lets give up".

For now, players need to accept that the genre has been built, thanks to WoW ingenuity (/snicker) and that all MMO's to come will try their best to mimic it until they get one that has all 7 years of content, can be 100% polished and ready at launch with a whole new endgame that no one can describe, but REALLY want to be meaningful.

I'm out...

Rift: The Rebuttal (or who mentioned "Jesus"?)

Seems the discussion about my posting on Rift and why I am let down by the MMO community is making the rounds. My favorite remark in one post has been used several times, and I think we need some rebuttal here...

Rift: No, it’s not the “Jesus” game

If I may...myself, I have never noted Rift as the "Jesus" game. First, the remark makes no sense.

Jesus died....MMO's have not died (at least not yet)...Jesus was resurrected...uh, doesn't something have to die to be resurrected. Jesus is our savior (according to the Christians!)...

So, is it the savior part? Is Rift here to SAVE us?

It could be. But, only for those who are willing to help this market grow.

But, I digress on this point...maybe on another post? Lets get to the nitty gritty of this debate though.

Some of the commentary on this particular posting has a few concerns that I think we should look into. (Check out this link to Massively Multiverse for more on this story).

"Apparently, if I have loved WoW at any point in WoW’s history but haven’t fallen head-over-heels in love with Rift in the same fashion, then I should leave the MMO genre entirely because I am nothing more than a burnt out, jaded gamer who has simply played far too many MMOs in his day. Come to think of it, I am a burnt out and jaded gamer during these, my MMO twilight years….*snickers*…but that’s beside the point!"

Not entirely true. But, to instead look upon Rift as just "copying" WoW is where the main issue lies. If you cannot look at Rift with an open mind and either like it or leave it alone, is where it causes concern.

Again, I must refer to the infamous Metacritic rating by a standard user who felt the need to give Rift a ZERO ...and why?

"There is really nothing NEW here that hasn't been done before."

Fair enough. I have no issue with this. People will find a lot to not like in other MMO's. I can clearly point out EVERY issue with Lord of the Rings Online and why I feel this is an inadequately made game. But, I would never give it a ZERO, because it still has some things going for it, like a company who cares, a community who rocks. This would be a FAIR rating.

A lot of what I read about Rift is NOT fair. Again at Multiverse...

"There are only two things in Rift that are somewhat unique. The Invasions and the Soul system are the two features that should be touted by Rift fans everywhere."

So, the AOE looting, map transparencies, instant change loadouts for class skills between specs, hover over healing,...all the background workings that advance the way we play don't count because you can't see them?

This I think is the main issue in that Rift has advanced a lot of game mechanics that we normally do not think about (like the invasion mechanic...though not entirely new, used a different way here makes even quest hubs a danger zone... or how about the quick change soul specs, though mainly seen in Guild Wars, has the added option of being able to use it ANYWHERE).

Lets talk about the off-healing mechanic. What game has a smart heal system that looks at all players in a group and decides who needs the most healing when group heals take effect?

No, these are not innovative, because they are not TANGIBLE to the player. These are not NEW.

Multiverse goes on to say...

"As for the Soul System, it was probably the key ingredient that I enjoyed the most while playing Rift. It is a step in the right direction for MMOs, and I am more than happy to applaud Trion for its creation. But at the end of the day, it has two things working against it. First of all, that many souls will prove to be horribly difficult to balance over time, especially for PvP. I’m not sure if Trion will ever be able to get the balance right. Secondly, just like the talent system in WoW or EQ 2, certain flavor of the month builds will emerge and dominate as they always do, proving once and for all that we don’t really need a better class based system."

Good point. Yet, no one has done it yet. What MMO is 100% balanced and ready to play? What MMO does not get some type of balance change on a regular basis?

WoW is still not balanced to this day. Why should this be a strike? Instead it should be noted as ongoing development...because isn't that really what MMO's are about? A never-ending cycle of patching and balancing, content addition, etc.

What about a "better class based system"? As I discussed in my *Futura* post yesterday, only one of many MMO's releasing will have it. How will it work? And will the current MMO player of course find a way to ruin it?

Moving on...

"The bar has been raised and developers need to adjust their ambitions accordingly."

This one says it all. Who raised that bar? Who said that the genre MUST be 100% different to be a GOOD game? This is where the "jaded" gamer comes in.

My constant example is the "Halo/CoD" argument. Even though in different settings, they are basically the same play style, same gameplay...gun, run, don't get killed or be killed. THAT's IT. These games continue to thrive...yet, the MMO genre must make a whole new change.

Better yet, lets use our current market. LOTRO, EQ2, WAR, AoC (lets even go ahead and leave WoW out of this). What unique features does each of these games offer that the other does not? Out of all these, WAR is the most different of the lot. Tiered gameplay, Realm vs Realm....actual crafting that requires the player to really be involved...

Yet, it is one of the lowest populated games on that list. Can we blame the bugs? Maybe. But, DEDICATED players will look beyond this and wait for development to take place. Instead everyone gave up as the game was not READY yet.

Rift is ready though. Trion is committed to listening to their customer base. Talk about your concerns with the devs and support a growing game. But the outright slamming it for trying to appease a large audience who wants similarities to begin with (heck, look at all the posts on the forums for those who WANT the LFD tool...you know, what another game has), seems out of hand.

That has been my main issue all along. The growing need of a "jaded" MMO community who want things to be different from WoW, but cannot see it if it hit them in the face leads to bickering about a game that should be able to let itself grow.

Finally...and in line with what has been said...

"Rift offers little in the way of true advancement. And just because it does its job well, does not mean we should all conform to hailing it as the greatest MMO on the planet."

Again, as I have said before. The background technology, the emergent gameplay (even though it is something YOU do not like, does not mean it is not an advancement), the willingness to ask the player what they want and ADD it (that alone is the single most advanced feature, thanks to so many devs of other MMO's ignoring their playerbase), already is a step up.

Rift is NOT the greatest MMO. But, it is what other MMO developers and games should aspire to be. Great at launch, fully fleshed out and ready to play.

The bar has been raised...by Trion actually. It is not JUST about the gameplay and features, but about the company. If we as a playerbase decide that because the game has similarities to another game, it should not be supported, then maybe we need to accept that all future games will be like WAR and AoC.

As well, until proven to me otherwise, I do not believe players want a NEW experience anyways. Otherwise they would support titles who are trying to make changes to the genre (Age of Conan was a perfect example of a game that had skill be the single most important requirement...yet players cried until it was revamped 6 months later to be a standard MMO).

So, is this market the way it is because of WoW? Sure is. Is the playerbase largely responsible? Yes...

But, is Rift "Jesus"? No. But, it sure is a damn fine game, well made..and if you can just let go of your preconceived notions of WoW and the "been there, done that", you could enjoy it more.

Psalm 69!

Crystal Ball-ing: Futura MMO-itis

Some appreciated linkage took place yesterday on my post about Rift and the difficulties of the current MMO gamer to just let go of the WoW mentality. (Thanks Common Sense Gamer)

Reading through the comments on his post got me thinking...especially one specific posting.

SmakenDahed said: “Guys, what do you want?” Something different.

This got me, of course, looking at my Crystal Balls for our future in MMO land. Can the genre really offer enough change that everyone really wants? The major complaint is how Rift is so much like the old MMO's, why would anyone want to play it?

But, will the new generation be that different?

Lets take a gander while I do a reach around and look at our future in MMO's...

• Star Wars: The Old Republic Online

This one has my ire up. The spectating I have done on this game has so many looking to Bioware for their next gen relief. Can the supposed "story" pillar really offer the change in this genre the MMO player craves?

Hell, all I need to do is go to my previous post and look at comments to see how "story" will be to the standard (WoW) MMO player...

Allen said "MMOs are about the gameplay. That's what makes people pay money every month to play. People aren't going to shell out $15 a month for a story, no matter how good, once they've completed that story. The gameplay is the hook."

So, is that how you feel? Rift has a unique IP and original story, but according to this player...who cares? But, is it the fact that so many are attached to the Star Wars IP and the legendary story, that it will be the key to their enjoyment?

Even though discussion has been rampant on some unique gameplay styles, SWToR will still have various issues that have plagued our MMO's since WoW began. Talk is there will be dual faction RvR...uh, everyone complains that true factional RvR needs three to survive. Dual factioning equals imbalance. What about the standards? Kill 10x? Gonna be in at launch. Raids? Sure thing.

What is unique? How about the companions...oh crud, DDO and Guild Wars have these....

Ok, will graphics...oh, fudge...NVM.

Again, next gen? Where?

Why will Star Wars be your MMO nirvana?

• The Secret World

Ok, this one is easy. Right off the bat, we have Funcom at the helm. Yes, Ragnar, the man who supposedly can do no wrong is in charge. BUT...two launches of an MMO, both gone horribly wrong...Can the third time be the charm?

This issue alone will most likely turn away a good bit of audience.

Right off the bat though, gameplay is unique in respect to no "levels" per se, but a skills based system. The setting is also unique (modern day instead of renfaire fun). So, where could it possibly go wrong?

First off, the main push is the "story"... Yep, another game that believes players want story. I know I do. Age of Conan was awesome in respects to that first 20 level run. Story was incredible. then they pulled it out from under our feet and the game fell on it's ass. It has since been polished up quite a bit, but is still a sore spot.

What about progress? We do not know much in that respect. Here is what the website says...

"The Secret World does not force you down a set path of progression. You are free to do anything you want at any time. If you ever get tired of doing missions or slaughtering demons, why not return to your secret society and perform tasks for them so you can rise up in their order? Do so, and you will unlock even more powers, weapons, and even unique uniforms. And, of course, untold secrets!"

Lets check our words...Tasks? QUESTS. Missions? DUNGEONS. Slaughtering? GRIND.

Did I get them all? As you can see, anyone can take any part of the "hype" a game developer builds and see that even our next gen games cannot escape the routines we have grown accustomed to.

Out of any game I will discuss today, Secret World has the most chance to offer a unique experience. The fact the developer is frowned upon and the mechanics still have that "similarity" feel...it will be hard for the game to escape the discussion that surrounds all MMO's.

• Tera

Why this is on ANYONE's radar, is a mystery to me. With it's Aion like graphics, why does it appeal to the MMO gamer?

Boobies.

Ok, well, there is also action based combat, but still....Vindictus does that already.

So, what does it offer? Quests? yes....Raids?...yep, yep. Story....meh, who cares, right? Most likely a lot of text boxes based on the videos I have seen. Hey, WoW does that too.

So, the game engine is definitely next gen, using Unreal 3. But, this is another issue. The game will hardly run on the hardware most gamers use (especially with the complaints so many give Rift of FPS issues, yet a friend of mine runs on a laptop with built in graphics, adequately, ...)

No, what we have here is another Korean MMO. Though they are popular to a large audience of manga/anime lovers, the derision most of these games receive due to poor westernization and shoddy UI's, etc...all add up to another game that will be reamed on a regular basis...(again, looking at Aion as our example).

Next?

• Guild Wars 2

This one I saved for last.

Though still stuck in Fantasy tropes and using some standards, GW2 is set to try and change the MMO genre as we know it. No quest markers? No grind? No Holy Trinity of Tank/DPS/Heal?

What could possibly go wrong?

First is the requirement of "story". Guild Wars, the original, did this well. But, people were not that interested in this aspect. But, the game DID sell 6 million copies, so that built in audience who cares about the story will exist.

Even though there are no true "quest" markers or this feeling of "following the path", there is still a need to somehow notify players of what is happening, so some type of system will be used to say "Hey, come here and kill 10 of these...", etc.

But, guess what? Dungeons? Still there. Raids? Still exist. Those same features that EVERY MMO HAS is still in GW2. Also, PvP, which is notorious in the realm of balance hell, will of course lead to the inevitable nerf, which is the purview of the MMO complainer.

Guild Wars 2 should be my choice for most innovative here, and it will be huge. But, I can smell the rampant MMO player waiting in the wings to take each NEW element, and turn it on it's nose and make us believe it has all been done before.

****

Basically, our future, though bright, is fraught with the MMO burnout. That player who, jacked up so much on MMO gameplay, is crashing when it comes to the newest innovations in this market.

Though we have a list of games that each offer something to advance the genre...just like Rift did.. they will be frowned upon. I mean, if I can find the issues (and two of those games on that list are my most wanteds), what will prevent that burnout from doing the same?

Though Rift is a really great game, the player feels the need to attach themselves to the "similarities" and not let go. I feel each of these upcoming games, no matter how hyped our MMO player is, will offer that "same old" feeling.

My suggestion right now is that if Rift is too much like your old MMO to let that feeling of sameness go...then let MMO's go in general until one of these launch.

Maybe by then you will remember what you loved about MMO gaming.