I'm continuing with a few more of Belghast's writing prompts today, namely - write about three favorite items from any video game ever, and about any goal I achieved in the past and what it was like to work towards it and eventually get it.
My first favorite item are consumables: Health Potions or Medkits (things that keep you alive) - specifically the type you can carry and use at will rather than the auto-use on pick up. I guess this habit goes back to my Ultima Online days where there was no delay or limit on potion use and has carried on since, despite the Potion Poison mechanic in Mabinogi (debuff from overuse) and cool downs in Neverwinter.
Second favourite item is the Berserk Sphere in Doom. I am a fan of unarmed combat, and while I was ok with the regular brass knuckles in this game getting the power up that let you smash demons into pieces with your fist was amazing, especially when coupled with an Invulnerability Sphere. :P
Last item for this list also contains a previously achieved goal. This is the decorative trophy pet: Mini-Liadri from Guildwars 2, which you can only get by succeeding in the fight against full-sized Liadri, the original final enemy of the Queen's Gauntlet. It took me many, many attempts over 6 days and learning from others both through exterior sources (like Jeromai's guide) and through watching other players attempt the fight.
Because it was so difficult for me, that victory tastes all the sweeter.
Showing posts with label GW2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GW2. Show all posts
Friday, 10 August 2018
Saturday, 19 May 2018
Gallery: How to beat Zhaitan
[Part of the Gallery.]
It's been a while since I did this in game so it might have changed by now, but my general recollection of it went as follows...
It's been a while since I did this in game so it might have changed by now, but my general recollection of it went as follows...
The lesser dragons are more of a challenge.
Saturday, 4 February 2017
Dark Souls III: Oh Brother...
Tales from Dark Souls - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!
It took a fair bit of effort to reach this boss room, but that's to be expected as the last lord soul is within reach. I found the sickly Prince Lothric waiting on his throne, but he wasn't going to do any fighting. He left that up to his much larger brother, Lorian who is a complete, teleporting, melee asskicker. Since this fight was killing me more than Ornstein and Smough I tried to summon help from players Turms, Gwyndolin and sunbro Cheshire Charr (go the GW2 reference!) who unfortunately could not enter the boss chamber. Thanks for trying guys!
Since it looked like I'd need to do this solo, I switched out my axe for Tsorig's Fume Greatsword - upgrading it fully for maximum reach and damage. It took a few attempt but finally, I slew Lorian! And then... Lothric teleports onto his back and ressurects him for phase 2... which now includes Lothric's many heatseeking, magic attacks. OMGWTFBBQ!?!
After quitting for a day, I decided to try enlist help again - this time from sunbros Yen Sid the mage and Tartarus the knight. This time they BOTH could enter, and we absolutely slammed the princely brothers into the dirt! Finally, all the lord souls were collected and back at Firelink Shrine the Firekeeper performed a ritual to take their flames (killing poor Ludeth) and pour them onto me - so that I may finally face the old gods of Lordran.
Harder than Ornstein and Smough.
It took a fair bit of effort to reach this boss room, but that's to be expected as the last lord soul is within reach. I found the sickly Prince Lothric waiting on his throne, but he wasn't going to do any fighting. He left that up to his much larger brother, Lorian who is a complete, teleporting, melee asskicker. Since this fight was killing me more than Ornstein and Smough I tried to summon help from players Turms, Gwyndolin and sunbro Cheshire Charr (go the GW2 reference!) who unfortunately could not enter the boss chamber. Thanks for trying guys!
Since it looked like I'd need to do this solo, I switched out my axe for Tsorig's Fume Greatsword - upgrading it fully for maximum reach and damage. It took a few attempt but finally, I slew Lorian! And then... Lothric teleports onto his back and ressurects him for phase 2... which now includes Lothric's many heatseeking, magic attacks. OMGWTFBBQ!?!
After quitting for a day, I decided to try enlist help again - this time from sunbros Yen Sid the mage and Tartarus the knight. This time they BOTH could enter, and we absolutely slammed the princely brothers into the dirt! Finally, all the lord souls were collected and back at Firelink Shrine the Firekeeper performed a ritual to take their flames (killing poor Ludeth) and pour them onto me - so that I may finally face the old gods of Lordran.
Best solution is again to bring numbers!
Thursday, 17 September 2015
NWO: The Cryptic Method
With the release of the latest module "Grindfest" "Strongholds", Cryptic certainly designed a great way to encourage people to grind in all the end game campaigns to acquire various doohickeys to help construct their stronghold. In addition to this (or I only realized recently) that they also placed some item level "barriers to entry" on some content which I am not a big fan of - mainly epic level dungeons.
Not that I have a burning desire to do that content, but just so I have the choice for if ever I want to participate - I can. Thus began my quest to improve my gear, and I quickly found there were two paths: farming a PvE instance or farming PvP matches. The fastest method to my goal was simply to do both. It probably also helped keep me sane, giving some variety in game style.
Anywho, as a non PvPer, you can imagine how that went for me in the various PvP Domination matches (fancy name for "Hold this Location" which is standard in many other games). Fortunately you still gain currency to buy those higher level items even if you lose, though at a much slower rate than the victors obviously. What it did make me see though is how people use their various characters, and what combos were most effective since I was usually at the receiving end of them.
Using my ultra-narutard Kakashi skills I obviously then respecced my guys to be more inline with what I would encounter there and wow, taking those builds back out into the PvE environment I'm now showing much better performance than before. My alt ranger character in particular, who was pretty rotten compared to my main rogue, I now slightly favor more because of the combat techniques learned from fighting other rangers: I had no idea he could perma root and stun enemy groups with fast enough rotations.
So now, not only do I have the bare minimum to pass all the gear wall levels but I also have the player skill for my two characters to play better. I think that is pretty awesome. Still doesn't mean I like PvP though, and that's a bad thing since it feels like Cryptic is trying to push it to the forefront with the recently released Stronghold Siege patch, which also happened to remove a major source of Astral Diamonds from the game.
See with Cryptic, "fix" is the same as "hack it off with an axe". Usually as MMO's progress there are more and more patches that release ever increasing content. Neverwinter Online is one of the few where future patches actually take away things from the game like dungeons, profession rewards, the foundry, and who knows what else is to come, and unlike the Living Story in Guildwars 2 there's absolutely no lore reason for it happening here.
Needs a lot of work!
Anywho, as a non PvPer, you can imagine how that went for me in the various PvP Domination matches (fancy name for "Hold this Location" which is standard in many other games). Fortunately you still gain currency to buy those higher level items even if you lose, though at a much slower rate than the victors obviously. What it did make me see though is how people use their various characters, and what combos were most effective since I was usually at the receiving end of them.
Using my ultra-narutard Kakashi skills I obviously then respecced my guys to be more inline with what I would encounter there and wow, taking those builds back out into the PvE environment I'm now showing much better performance than before. My alt ranger character in particular, who was pretty rotten compared to my main rogue, I now slightly favor more because of the combat techniques learned from fighting other rangers: I had no idea he could perma root and stun enemy groups with fast enough rotations.
So now, not only do I have the bare minimum to pass all the gear wall levels but I also have the player skill for my two characters to play better. I think that is pretty awesome. Still doesn't mean I like PvP though, and that's a bad thing since it feels like Cryptic is trying to push it to the forefront with the recently released Stronghold Siege patch, which also happened to remove a major source of Astral Diamonds from the game.
See with Cryptic, "fix" is the same as "hack it off with an axe". Usually as MMO's progress there are more and more patches that release ever increasing content. Neverwinter Online is one of the few where future patches actually take away things from the game like dungeons, profession rewards, the foundry, and who knows what else is to come, and unlike the Living Story in Guildwars 2 there's absolutely no lore reason for it happening here.
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Vindictus: King of the Trolls
[This is part of my Vindictus tutorials.]
I started getting into real trouble when I reached the troll inhabited Hilder Forest Ruins. It's like an exam of every boss you have fought, just that they move faster, hit harder, and are way uglier. I quite disliked the very first boss, Meperdu who has a unique(?) ability of pinning you against the wall and forcing the whole rest of the fight to take place in judo range (ie. zero distance). I could still beat him, but the one that really sucked was the king of the Shady Forest - Klaus.
I think next to GW2s Liadri he currently holds the most number of kills on me in any MMO. The difference is that while Liadri was a duel, Klaus is a raid boss, and given that I only beat him on my ninth attempt means he destroyed the first eight different parties I went in with! Even the Neverwinter's mighty Tiamat only won four times before I broke her winning streak. Unlike Tiamat though there is no strategy to Klaus. It's pure skill and luck and if you have enough of both, he can be soloed.
This did let me study him quite a bit, and as a ranged character, I found out why he is so damned tough - because he is a crafty bastard and all his hits take out a ton of HP.
Two moves in particular are what would always get me:
First is his charge. Yup, he runs in a straight line from point A to point B. Sounds easy to evade right? Wrong. Point B is JUST BEFORE his target. He then shifts direction (if the target moved) and continues charging to point C - through said target, and anyone else in the way. I would always dodge too early. It really has to be at the last split second that you move aside or he hits you with that giant horned helm.
Second is that he waves his magic mace/staff in the air. This actually sends out hard to see, translucent orbs at all players (+1) that SEEK. Again, you have to dodge at the last second, too early and it will track and hit you. Getting hit by any of these drain all your stamina, meaning you cannot run or dodge and making you pretty vulnerable to his charge which he likes to use right after. He also shoots an extra one, meaning someone has to dodge two translucent spheres. That final one not only drains your stamina but actually roots you to the spot.
I started getting into real trouble when I reached the troll inhabited Hilder Forest Ruins. It's like an exam of every boss you have fought, just that they move faster, hit harder, and are way uglier. I quite disliked the very first boss, Meperdu who has a unique(?) ability of pinning you against the wall and forcing the whole rest of the fight to take place in judo range (ie. zero distance). I could still beat him, but the one that really sucked was the king of the Shady Forest - Klaus.
Ho ho ho!
I think next to GW2s Liadri he currently holds the most number of kills on me in any MMO. The difference is that while Liadri was a duel, Klaus is a raid boss, and given that I only beat him on my ninth attempt means he destroyed the first eight different parties I went in with! Even the Neverwinter's mighty Tiamat only won four times before I broke her winning streak. Unlike Tiamat though there is no strategy to Klaus. It's pure skill and luck and if you have enough of both, he can be soloed.
This did let me study him quite a bit, and as a ranged character, I found out why he is so damned tough - because he is a crafty bastard and all his hits take out a ton of HP.
Two moves in particular are what would always get me:
First is his charge. Yup, he runs in a straight line from point A to point B. Sounds easy to evade right? Wrong. Point B is JUST BEFORE his target. He then shifts direction (if the target moved) and continues charging to point C - through said target, and anyone else in the way. I would always dodge too early. It really has to be at the last split second that you move aside or he hits you with that giant horned helm.
Second is that he waves his magic mace/staff in the air. This actually sends out hard to see, translucent orbs at all players (+1) that SEEK. Again, you have to dodge at the last second, too early and it will track and hit you. Getting hit by any of these drain all your stamina, meaning you cannot run or dodge and making you pretty vulnerable to his charge which he likes to use right after. He also shoots an extra one, meaning someone has to dodge two translucent spheres. That final one not only drains your stamina but actually roots you to the spot.
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
MMOs: Voice Actors
[Part of my MMO Design Folder]
I think most voice acting should be removed from MMOs.
"NO! You're Crazy!" I hear you say. Well let's think about it first. There have been so many MMO's that have managed to do without a single bit of voice acting in game. You can probably think of a few if you put your mind to it. Sure a few battle grunts and yells are ok, and maybe a generic welcoming "hello" or two but fully scripted dialogue? How often do you actually sit and listen to everything a voiced NPC has to say, without skipping because you've read the text faster than the voice actor? Do you also listen to it in its entirety if you have to see it again, or maybe with an alternate character?
Voice acting can be one of the big money drains on an MMO. This is even more pronounced if the player character has a voice since you then need one of each gender or each race, with additional lines for all each expansion. Ask Guildwars 2, they're feeling that design flaw now with their Living Story which is why there are no more cut scenes outside the base main story where your protagonist speaks audibly. And that's just in one language.
What about cut scenes? Those need voices right? Maybe. Firstly, you can tell a story without voice. Secondly, do you watch every cut scene fully each time one plays, even if you have seen it before? Just something to think about. I know I for one often skip repetition - and on days where I want to "play" instead of "watch", I skip right past most of the talky bits too because I simply read the text faster than it is voiced for me.
Other than having a smaller download size for the game (as audio files can get pretty huge) having less voice would hopefully encourage people to read more, and increase their literacy level at the same time! What do you think? Would knowing there is or is no voice acting affect your choice in playing an MMO?
I think most voice acting should be removed from MMOs.
"NO! You're Crazy!" I hear you say. Well let's think about it first. There have been so many MMO's that have managed to do without a single bit of voice acting in game. You can probably think of a few if you put your mind to it. Sure a few battle grunts and yells are ok, and maybe a generic welcoming "hello" or two but fully scripted dialogue? How often do you actually sit and listen to everything a voiced NPC has to say, without skipping because you've read the text faster than the voice actor? Do you also listen to it in its entirety if you have to see it again, or maybe with an alternate character?
Voice acting can be one of the big money drains on an MMO. This is even more pronounced if the player character has a voice since you then need one of each gender or each race, with additional lines for all each expansion. Ask Guildwars 2, they're feeling that design flaw now with their Living Story which is why there are no more cut scenes outside the base main story where your protagonist speaks audibly. And that's just in one language.
What about cut scenes? Those need voices right? Maybe. Firstly, you can tell a story without voice. Secondly, do you watch every cut scene fully each time one plays, even if you have seen it before? Just something to think about. I know I for one often skip repetition - and on days where I want to "play" instead of "watch", I skip right past most of the talky bits too because I simply read the text faster than it is voiced for me.
Buffy's Hush episode was awesome.
Other than having a smaller download size for the game (as audio files can get pretty huge) having less voice would hopefully encourage people to read more, and increase their literacy level at the same time! What do you think? Would knowing there is or is no voice acting affect your choice in playing an MMO?
Thursday, 14 November 2013
MMOs: Stale Worlds
[Part of my MMO Design Folder]
One of the things I miss most about the free shards of Ultima Online are the GM's and their impromptu quests.
Yes, some were incredibly silly ranging from "catch the talking cat" to "suddenly - SKELETON ARMY!" while some were obviously just there to kill you, like "A pit fiend pops out of hiding... in your house!" Most were still very well thought out and actually did have storylines running behind them, and given the nature of the game all of them were just one time events that you had to be at or miss them entirely. Half the time there weren't even notices to let people know that something was happening. It was always a surprise, and that is actually what made them so good. Their random encounters that could happen along any part of the map, even the middle of the ocean, was what made constant exploration fun. Sure you could fast travel to spots, but odds are you risked missing out on stuff in between.
Compare that to modern day MMO's. There's a main quest everyone can do, at anytime they choose. The spawns pretty much stay in the same place. The "dynamic" events, if there are any, are looping on timers. Special events are held in major populated hubs or are specifically announced to the world. Sure, I appreciate the theme park nature of getting everyone to come try out your new ride but with that system it somewhat of kills the adventuring part of the game and the uniqueness, the story of your character.
Despite being unable to attend, I didn't mind the one-time event karka finale in Guildwars 2. I felt they were on the right track for that (apart from overestimating their server capabilities). Where they fell off though was when they declared that they would only run events to their highest populated time zone. That's a big nope right there. Simple rostering is all that's required to cover multiple events for global time zones, or they could have just said the next one time event will be at a favourable time for Europe, then China, etc. The backlash they got was so severe they've not had a one time event since.
When was the last time you encountered a unique quest or event that was just for you or your party in an MMO, which no one else got to experience?
One of the things I miss most about the free shards of Ultima Online are the GM's and their impromptu quests.
Yes, some were incredibly silly ranging from "catch the talking cat" to "suddenly - SKELETON ARMY!" while some were obviously just there to kill you, like "A pit fiend pops out of hiding... in your house!" Most were still very well thought out and actually did have storylines running behind them, and given the nature of the game all of them were just one time events that you had to be at or miss them entirely. Half the time there weren't even notices to let people know that something was happening. It was always a surprise, and that is actually what made them so good. Their random encounters that could happen along any part of the map, even the middle of the ocean, was what made constant exploration fun. Sure you could fast travel to spots, but odds are you risked missing out on stuff in between.
Not all random encounters are hostile.
Compare that to modern day MMO's. There's a main quest everyone can do, at anytime they choose. The spawns pretty much stay in the same place. The "dynamic" events, if there are any, are looping on timers. Special events are held in major populated hubs or are specifically announced to the world. Sure, I appreciate the theme park nature of getting everyone to come try out your new ride but with that system it somewhat of kills the adventuring part of the game and the uniqueness, the story of your character.
Despite being unable to attend, I didn't mind the one-time event karka finale in Guildwars 2. I felt they were on the right track for that (apart from overestimating their server capabilities). Where they fell off though was when they declared that they would only run events to their highest populated time zone. That's a big nope right there. Simple rostering is all that's required to cover multiple events for global time zones, or they could have just said the next one time event will be at a favourable time for Europe, then China, etc. The backlash they got was so severe they've not had a one time event since.
When was the last time you encountered a unique quest or event that was just for you or your party in an MMO, which no one else got to experience?
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
MMOs: Winning Conditions
[Part of my MMO Design Folder]
You are the chosen one. The hero who saved the day. Just like everyone else.
That's the feeling I and many others get when MMO's offer a main storyline quest. In Guildwars 2 I'm the commander of the Pact, second only to a lettuce man (the true hero of the story), and I've helped slay an elder dragon. Any character that completes that main quest can say the previous line and it would be true, but by having so many of them existing in the same world at the same time really kills any importance or bearing it may have had. Indeed, there are as many winning conditions as there are people playing so why force everyone into one mold?
Unique experiences are always the best ones which is why human controlled game masters add so much to virtual worlds for me. However since they seem to be being phased out of the online scene I think that instead (or aside) from the main "plot" each character should be given their own quest, their own reason for existing - and who better to decide what that is than the player playing it. Part of the character creation would be including a goal. A few examples might be:
-Finish the main story (if there is one)
-Find the secret doo hickey in the secret dungeon that constantly changes position and ONLY YOU can find
-Get all the (non cash shop, non tradeable) hats. Possibly one from that secret dungeon above
-Kill x number of specific targets (players) randomly chosen by the game (must be people who have been active lately)
-Slay the boss of whatever dungeon on a particular difficulty
-Forge the uber sword of uberness
-Assist x number of other players achieve their final personal goal
However, they also need to choose a fail condition. The two simplest that come to mind are finish within x number of months or die x number of times. Now the catch is if you fail OR succeed, that character is then retired (complete with cutscene). Maybe you can still log in as them, but you will be limited to being in the safe zones only for RP and show-off purposes or some other limitation. If you wish to keep playing, you will need to create a new character who will have their own overarching goal. Should their predecessor(s) have been successful maybe they start off with a cumulative bonus (like the uber sword) based on how difficult the previous goal was and how harsh the fail condition was. Indeed, not all stories will have happy endings.
It's still a hamster wheel. All I've done is add some stops and removed some over population (of players) in the higher end zones. I'm guessing if any game attempts this they'd still need an option just to have a "standard" character though for those who want to opt out - of course those characters cannot gain benefits from any previous ones. What do you think? Would you play a game with this setup or does having a visible finish line break the whole concept of an MMO?
You are the chosen one. The hero who saved the day. Just like everyone else.
That's the feeling I and many others get when MMO's offer a main storyline quest. In Guildwars 2 I'm the commander of the Pact, second only to a lettuce man (the true hero of the story), and I've helped slay an elder dragon. Any character that completes that main quest can say the previous line and it would be true, but by having so many of them existing in the same world at the same time really kills any importance or bearing it may have had. Indeed, there are as many winning conditions as there are people playing so why force everyone into one mold?
Unique experiences are always the best ones which is why human controlled game masters add so much to virtual worlds for me. However since they seem to be being phased out of the online scene I think that instead (or aside) from the main "plot" each character should be given their own quest, their own reason for existing - and who better to decide what that is than the player playing it. Part of the character creation would be including a goal. A few examples might be:
-Finish the main story (if there is one)
-Find the secret doo hickey in the secret dungeon that constantly changes position and ONLY YOU can find
-Get all the (non cash shop, non tradeable) hats. Possibly one from that secret dungeon above
-Kill x number of specific targets (players) randomly chosen by the game (must be people who have been active lately)
-Slay the boss of whatever dungeon on a particular difficulty
-Forge the uber sword of uberness
-Assist x number of other players achieve their final personal goal
However, they also need to choose a fail condition. The two simplest that come to mind are finish within x number of months or die x number of times. Now the catch is if you fail OR succeed, that character is then retired (complete with cutscene). Maybe you can still log in as them, but you will be limited to being in the safe zones only for RP and show-off purposes or some other limitation. If you wish to keep playing, you will need to create a new character who will have their own overarching goal. Should their predecessor(s) have been successful maybe they start off with a cumulative bonus (like the uber sword) based on how difficult the previous goal was and how harsh the fail condition was. Indeed, not all stories will have happy endings.
Guess how Xena ends.
It's still a hamster wheel. All I've done is add some stops and removed some over population (of players) in the higher end zones. I'm guessing if any game attempts this they'd still need an option just to have a "standard" character though for those who want to opt out - of course those characters cannot gain benefits from any previous ones. What do you think? Would you play a game with this setup or does having a visible finish line break the whole concept of an MMO?
Sunday, 3 November 2013
By the Light of the Moon [AoC]
I got the chance to do the Halloween Quest in Age of Conan a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was, compared to GW2 anyway. As an aside, GW2 no longer lets me log into the game (or forums) now. It keeps saying "email authentication sent" but nothing ever gets there. According to their forums "the problem is with my provider" to which I call BS since all other mail gets through fine. Guess ANet are trying to reduce player numbers?
Back on topic, the gist of the story is that a wandering tribe are visiting Conarch village and they turn out to be werewolves. Through deceit you are made one of their number (for very good RP reason too) and awaken in a solo instance wherein you try to save the village from being massacred.
Stabby time.
I know I've mentioned before that this is a strange single player MMO at times, but after seeing the zerg fest alternative I don't mind it at all. Apart from the obvious advantage of not having to rely on anyone else, enemies are scaled to your level (which lets everyone participate), and there are a few branching optional paths with mini-bosses that drop extra loot. The presence of friendly tough but mortal guard NPCs and panicked villagers that distract the werewolves really adds to the atmosphere and the boss fights have simple mechanics to learn, but are forgiving enough to let you learn them without killing you over and over in the process. The rewards are decent too, even if they are just aesthetics you can sell them for decent amounts of currency if you don't like them.
After defeating the alpha you are then sent to cure yourself which entails a small grind of killing 30 of anything, which still a lot less than the GW2 grind since 30 bunnies is valid, then go into another solo instance wherein you fight your wolf self. The way this small plot is written is great and really involves the player, you get that sense of "I need to do this" that doesn't really come across as well when Trahearne is just handing you another mission. Lore wise it works too, there are werewolves in the game near Conarch village and you can go fight them - it's not like they made up something out of thin air with nonsensical requirements to achieve (like acquiring GW2's candy corn elemental, yeah that made sense).
Maybe part of the reason is the scope of the tale. Most of this takes place in just one night in one village, and then the fields nearby. It's not really a world impacting event involving grand scale armies that you either have to fight off or be a part of to defeat a zone threatening foe. Maybe because the focus wasn't so wide we didn't lose sight of our own character and that our actions are more impactful when we don't have anyone to cover our weaknesses.
Back on topic, the gist of the story is that a wandering tribe are visiting Conarch village and they turn out to be werewolves. Through deceit you are made one of their number (for very good RP reason too) and awaken in a solo instance wherein you try to save the village from being massacred.
Stabby time.
I know I've mentioned before that this is a strange single player MMO at times, but after seeing the zerg fest alternative I don't mind it at all. Apart from the obvious advantage of not having to rely on anyone else, enemies are scaled to your level (which lets everyone participate), and there are a few branching optional paths with mini-bosses that drop extra loot. The presence of friendly tough but mortal guard NPCs and panicked villagers that distract the werewolves really adds to the atmosphere and the boss fights have simple mechanics to learn, but are forgiving enough to let you learn them without killing you over and over in the process. The rewards are decent too, even if they are just aesthetics you can sell them for decent amounts of currency if you don't like them.
After defeating the alpha you are then sent to cure yourself which entails a small grind of killing 30 of anything, which still a lot less than the GW2 grind since 30 bunnies is valid, then go into another solo instance wherein you fight your wolf self. The way this small plot is written is great and really involves the player, you get that sense of "I need to do this" that doesn't really come across as well when Trahearne is just handing you another mission. Lore wise it works too, there are werewolves in the game near Conarch village and you can go fight them - it's not like they made up something out of thin air with nonsensical requirements to achieve (like acquiring GW2's candy corn elemental, yeah that made sense).
Maybe part of the reason is the scope of the tale. Most of this takes place in just one night in one village, and then the fields nearby. It's not really a world impacting event involving grand scale armies that you either have to fight off or be a part of to defeat a zone threatening foe. Maybe because the focus wasn't so wide we didn't lose sight of our own character and that our actions are more impactful when we don't have anyone to cover our weaknesses.
Thursday, 31 October 2013
NBI 2013 - Aftermath Eternal
With the dawn that ends Halloween, so ends the Newbie Blogger Initiative this year... or does it? It has the structure to continue going despite the end of its term but I guess that's more a decision for the organizers. I'm pretty glad I joined in, as it spawned a few of the blog posts I had this past month.
It also got this site a number of links, boosted those graphs and numbers I'm not meant to be looking at, learned a few things, and given me a whole bunch of new blogs to follow and comment on myself (you can see from the extensive "paths I travel" on the right. If I missed yours or you just want to be added - let me know)!
Lastly, if you are or know of a newbie blogger then I strongly suggest visiting the site, regardless if it's on-going or not. Lots of tips to be learned and easily built bridges to be made.
Also I thought that for a change I should put down what things you might see appearing on this blog during the upcoming month. Can't make any guarantees but if it's in the game plan, there's a good chance I'll blog about it!
It also got this site a number of links, boosted those graphs and numbers I'm not meant to be looking at, learned a few things, and given me a whole bunch of new blogs to follow and comment on myself (you can see from the extensive "paths I travel" on the right. If I missed yours or you just want to be added - let me know)!
Lastly, if you are or know of a newbie blogger then I strongly suggest visiting the site, regardless if it's on-going or not. Lots of tips to be learned and easily built bridges to be made.
What the picture doesn't show is the wealth of information and community that dragon is sitting on.
Also I thought that for a change I should put down what things you might see appearing on this blog during the upcoming month. Can't make any guarantees but if it's in the game plan, there's a good chance I'll blog about it!
My to do list for November (no particular order):
See the Tower of Nightmares for myself in Guildwars 2.(can't log in)Investigate the werewolf attack on Conarch Village in Age of Conan. (done)- Complete all missions on Warframe (only around 50% done).
- Finish that second quest in the Neverwinter Online Foundry.
- Write the first part of my guild's history, it's NanoWrimo afterall.
Check out Path of Exile as suggested byDoone.(done)Check out Atlantica Online as suggested bySynCaine. (done)- Finish mapping the Aria Reservoir in Wizardry Online.
Monday, 28 October 2013
MMOs: Zone Population Balance
[Part of my MMO Design Folder]
Casual Aggro has a post where he questions the point of GW2's up/down levelling. Basically he wonders why it's there at all because as a low level character (up levelled) you still get caned by high level mobs while at high level (down levelled) you can still curb stomp everything. One might argue that if you are at max level, being defeated or having a really tough time fighting the level 0 chicken or bunny in the starter zone would kill any sense of progression you may have had. I'd prefer to look at the "why" they included that system to begin with.
In a standard MMO (without scaling) the higher level people would gravitate to the higher level zones as that's where they would still be able to achieve or earn something. Usually if they returned to the beginner areas they wouldn't really gain much in the way of advancement. This creates a ladder where slowly but surely those high end zones are getting more and more packed and veterans were less likely to return to help the newbies. The GW2's scaling system was supposed to reduce this, so that high levs could return to the other zones and still be rewarded for their efforts, and in a way it worked. However since players prefer the path of least resistance now the high levs camp both the top and bottom tier zones leaving everything in the middle mostly empty, save for when events happen there.
How would I fix it?
While this would be easier to accomplish in a new venture, for GW2 first I would add more currency. Yep. Karma doesn't cut it. This currency would be called "Fame", and would be tracked individually per region. Unlike other currencies, fame is fickle and will decay after sometime (even if you are offline) back to a value of zero. Then I would add a new tier of items (or rework legendaries). Purchasing said gear requires fame from multiple regions. Furthermore, the more fame you have across the lands, the more powerful those items would be. They can potentially be the most powerful equipment in the game but if you don't maintain the fame (in ALL the zones) then they will be as weak as starter "whites". This will encourage people to log in more often, and to run around all the maps to maintain their strength.
You can even make another set for WvW which increases in power the more people you kill, but that counter decays too so you'd need to be constantly killing to be at maximum power. Those are just rough ideas but I believe they would work. In short, without the threat of decay I don't think anything can really flourish.
Casual Aggro has a post where he questions the point of GW2's up/down levelling. Basically he wonders why it's there at all because as a low level character (up levelled) you still get caned by high level mobs while at high level (down levelled) you can still curb stomp everything. One might argue that if you are at max level, being defeated or having a really tough time fighting the level 0 chicken or bunny in the starter zone would kill any sense of progression you may have had. I'd prefer to look at the "why" they included that system to begin with.
It'll chop your head off.
In a standard MMO (without scaling) the higher level people would gravitate to the higher level zones as that's where they would still be able to achieve or earn something. Usually if they returned to the beginner areas they wouldn't really gain much in the way of advancement. This creates a ladder where slowly but surely those high end zones are getting more and more packed and veterans were less likely to return to help the newbies. The GW2's scaling system was supposed to reduce this, so that high levs could return to the other zones and still be rewarded for their efforts, and in a way it worked. However since players prefer the path of least resistance now the high levs camp both the top and bottom tier zones leaving everything in the middle mostly empty, save for when events happen there.
How would I fix it?
While this would be easier to accomplish in a new venture, for GW2 first I would add more currency. Yep. Karma doesn't cut it. This currency would be called "Fame", and would be tracked individually per region. Unlike other currencies, fame is fickle and will decay after sometime (even if you are offline) back to a value of zero. Then I would add a new tier of items (or rework legendaries). Purchasing said gear requires fame from multiple regions. Furthermore, the more fame you have across the lands, the more powerful those items would be. They can potentially be the most powerful equipment in the game but if you don't maintain the fame (in ALL the zones) then they will be as weak as starter "whites". This will encourage people to log in more often, and to run around all the maps to maintain their strength.
You can even make another set for WvW which increases in power the more people you kill, but that counter decays too so you'd need to be constantly killing to be at maximum power. Those are just rough ideas but I believe they would work. In short, without the threat of decay I don't think anything can really flourish.
Sunday, 27 October 2013
A Week Full of Bullets
If there's one thing I learned from playing Battleground Europe: World War II Online, it's that war is boring. Just to clarify, the combat action parts of this MMOFPS are good (though I spend most of those lying face down in a puddle of my own blood wondering what the heck just killed me) but given the scope of the game where a pretty large chunk if not all of Europe is open for travel it can get a little dull in-between conflicts. As a test, I set my guy up to auto-run from one friendly town to the next one over which was hostile. I then went and had dinner and watched a bit of TV. When I came back I had -just- bypassed my destination. That's bloody far. Turned around and entered the town but was quickly killed by a sentry.
At least it's realistic in that one shot will probably kill you. Also, I think the people who fly planes would get a pretty good flight simulator from this one since your "playing space" is huge unlike in the Battlefield series where wandering off the (much smaller) map makes you despawn after awhile. There are boats too but I've not yet encountered them. Another slight issue for some might be the graphics - they are very simple, but effective enough. Destroyable terrain and buildings makes up for that. You can even dig your own trench/fighting position as an infantry man which is cool.
Really the only thing I don't like is all the waiting. Waiting to attack. Waiting to defend. Waiting to get to the next town. Guess it's true that waiting is the hardest part?
Oh and I don't like their pay scheme. You can play as a recruit level (and the gear that entails) for free forever but you'll never advance unless you subscribe (bribe the officials). Guess that means it's uninstall time for this game. At least in Warframe you can still get all the gear without paying - it just takes a bit longer.
Meanwhile in space...
Speaking of Warframe I'm surprised to report it DOES have an underlying story that evolves as each patch is released. The current event is "the Gravidus Dilemma" wherein you must choose to either aid the expansion of the ruthless Grineer empire who enslave colonies but will in exchange return any frozen Tenno (that's your group) they find, or save the colonies with the Corpus merchant guild who will keep any frozen Tenno for themselves for experimentation.
In practice I think most people are just picking whatever side offers a better reward per mission, but I can see how the story can then progress depending on which side had more victories or participants. If only Guildwars 2 could do something similar with their living story instead of a very stale political vote or worse, a railroaded path. Adding moral choices usually makes them just that bit more important.
At least it's realistic in that one shot will probably kill you. Also, I think the people who fly planes would get a pretty good flight simulator from this one since your "playing space" is huge unlike in the Battlefield series where wandering off the (much smaller) map makes you despawn after awhile. There are boats too but I've not yet encountered them. Another slight issue for some might be the graphics - they are very simple, but effective enough. Destroyable terrain and buildings makes up for that. You can even dig your own trench/fighting position as an infantry man which is cool.
Really the only thing I don't like is all the waiting. Waiting to attack. Waiting to defend. Waiting to get to the next town. Guess it's true that waiting is the hardest part?
So... when are the Allies arriving again?
Oh and I don't like their pay scheme. You can play as a recruit level (and the gear that entails) for free forever but you'll never advance unless you subscribe (bribe the officials). Guess that means it's uninstall time for this game. At least in Warframe you can still get all the gear without paying - it just takes a bit longer.
Meanwhile in space...
Speaking of Warframe I'm surprised to report it DOES have an underlying story that evolves as each patch is released. The current event is "the Gravidus Dilemma" wherein you must choose to either aid the expansion of the ruthless Grineer empire who enslave colonies but will in exchange return any frozen Tenno (that's your group) they find, or save the colonies with the Corpus merchant guild who will keep any frozen Tenno for themselves for experimentation.
In practice I think most people are just picking whatever side offers a better reward per mission, but I can see how the story can then progress depending on which side had more victories or participants. If only Guildwars 2 could do something similar with their living story instead of a very stale political vote or worse, a railroaded path. Adding moral choices usually makes them just that bit more important.
Sunday, 20 October 2013
The Maddening Grinds
Part of my Explorer of Tyria journal - you can find the rest here!
Apparently opening sealed, magical coffin-like boxes wrapped in heavy chains that radiate evil is a bad idea. This particular one contained the vengeful son of the Mad King, and if there's anything I know about spirits it's that they can hold a grudge! Fortunately his only weakness is plentiful this time of the year, and we easily pushed him back into his prison because we're such nice guys.
The Mad King himself is about too, and with him returned his clock tower - still one of my favourite jumping challenges around. I did prefer racing against charrs and norns instead of wisps though but that's ok. It's all muscle memory now. The Labyrinth also has more bosses too, which alas, do not scale down and do not cater for the solo roamer. Even some areas the "regular" mobs there who can do a combination of push, pull and paralyze (in addition to just killing you) are pretty dangerous meaning it's not very productive to be there alone.
This meant that after I did what I needed to I headed back over to Neverwinter to grind up some Coins of Waukeen (a special event this week). Boring? Slightly. Just a little worse than the current living story achievement grind in GW2. Difficult? Nope, and very appealing since you can participate solo instead of relying on a zerg. Rewarding? Still very luck based, but in my case it paid off to the tune of five hundred twelve thousand astral diamonds (and a bunch of other gear)! That's worth quite a bit more than a silly pail or useless minature offered in Tyria, and for a much heavier grind I might add.
Apparently opening sealed, magical coffin-like boxes wrapped in heavy chains that radiate evil is a bad idea. This particular one contained the vengeful son of the Mad King, and if there's anything I know about spirits it's that they can hold a grudge! Fortunately his only weakness is plentiful this time of the year, and we easily pushed him back into his prison because we're such nice guys.
Oh, how I missed thee clock tower!
This meant that after I did what I needed to I headed back over to Neverwinter to grind up some Coins of Waukeen (a special event this week). Boring? Slightly. Just a little worse than the current living story achievement grind in GW2. Difficult? Nope, and very appealing since you can participate solo instead of relying on a zerg. Rewarding? Still very luck based, but in my case it paid off to the tune of five hundred twelve thousand astral diamonds (and a bunch of other gear)! That's worth quite a bit more than a silly pail or useless minature offered in Tyria, and for a much heavier grind I might add.
Sunday, 29 September 2013
The Fifteen Minute Quest
Fifteen minutes is the optimal amount of time for an MMO quest or activity. This is one of the guidelines to Cryptic's Neverwinter Foundry, and while I initially scoffed at such a low number I am now seeing just how right they are especially when comparing it to other online games. Casual gamers play in small chunks of time, and in that chunk they have to be able to do something they feel is rewarding, or at least get one step closer to some goal.
The main problem stems from the fact that there is no individual "save" feature in MMOs, and really - I don't know how you'd implement one to begin with. A solo game you can usually start and stop at your leisure, just like table top games - and more importantly you can continue where you left off when you decide to resume (though that would be tricky with more complicated setups like Arkham Horror or a Warhammer 40k skirmish unless you left the table as is).
In comparison, it really "burns" when you undertake something that takes so long then come up empty: Failing at the last boss of a long dungeon run, or losing connection in GW2's SAB Tribulation mode, or being defeated by Tequatl (I imagine. Haven't bothered waiting to fight him). Each of those have to be restarted from scratch if you want to try again and for someone time poor, that would be extra annoying - especially if there were alternative shorter activities they could have done instead.
Quitting Time! Guess we'll just have to restart this from scratch tomorrow.
I imagine that's the main problem with my first "spacious" quest. It starts in a tavern, you can talk to everyone (though you don't have to), there's a little bit of puzzle solving and a fair bit of exploration before any combat even begins. People look at the average time of one hour and simply skip it for a faster run through something (or a few "somethings") else. Well, I've learned my lesson. My second foundry quest is coming together nicely and is going to be more "condensed" than I originally planned and hopefully will only run to the 15-20 minute mark. The story will still be there, but there'll be less fluff. Should be interesting to see how well it does in comparison.
If you play Neverwinter Online and want to try my first foundry quest (despite the length) it is:
One Step to Darkness [NW-DNJC9SK7A]
You'll probably need to use the short-code (NW-DNJC9SK7A) without the brackets in a few of the tabs before you can find it. I always appreciate more play throughs and feedback!
The main problem stems from the fact that there is no individual "save" feature in MMOs, and really - I don't know how you'd implement one to begin with. A solo game you can usually start and stop at your leisure, just like table top games - and more importantly you can continue where you left off when you decide to resume (though that would be tricky with more complicated setups like Arkham Horror or a Warhammer 40k skirmish unless you left the table as is).
In comparison, it really "burns" when you undertake something that takes so long then come up empty: Failing at the last boss of a long dungeon run, or losing connection in GW2's SAB Tribulation mode, or being defeated by Tequatl (I imagine. Haven't bothered waiting to fight him). Each of those have to be restarted from scratch if you want to try again and for someone time poor, that would be extra annoying - especially if there were alternative shorter activities they could have done instead.
I imagine that's the main problem with my first "spacious" quest. It starts in a tavern, you can talk to everyone (though you don't have to), there's a little bit of puzzle solving and a fair bit of exploration before any combat even begins. People look at the average time of one hour and simply skip it for a faster run through something (or a few "somethings") else. Well, I've learned my lesson. My second foundry quest is coming together nicely and is going to be more "condensed" than I originally planned and hopefully will only run to the 15-20 minute mark. The story will still be there, but there'll be less fluff. Should be interesting to see how well it does in comparison.
If you play Neverwinter Online and want to try my first foundry quest (despite the length) it is:
One Step to Darkness [NW-DNJC9SK7A]
You'll probably need to use the short-code (NW-DNJC9SK7A) without the brackets in a few of the tabs before you can find it. I always appreciate more play throughs and feedback!
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Dragon Hunter Rox
Part of my Explorer of Tyria journal - you can find the rest here!
Met up with the charr ranger Rox at Sparkfly Fen recently. She was hunting the reincarnation of the local dragon "Tea Kettle" in the swamps to impress Tribune Brimstone. Stupid cats. Anyway I helped her out, finding numerous tracks of the beast as well as leftovers from the Shatterer and Jormag's little friend. Ironically during all of this I only encountered the last one up at Frostgorge Sound and helped the local army defeat him. Nothing really heroic about it when you have half a legion behind you combined with heavy firepower provided by the nearby stationary guns. The dragons in this land are stupid, they always seem to attack in the firing lanes of the cannons that await them. Not sure what else there was to do since none of the other beasts dared show their face while I was active (the cowards) so I moved on to other things.
I've since heard tell of the local militia swarming to Rox's aid, often spending many hours just waiting in anticipation for the arrival of their foe in the sticky, smelly swamp. I guess they find the waiting fun, or are they just waiting to have fun? Reports say the dragon has grown in strength - more often defeating or escaping from the angry mob than not. Commanders have taken it upon themselves to meld the troops into a well fused, fighting machine - posting tactics and requirements on the local forums. I had one look at this and rolled my eyes. I was never really one for filling a "role" like an automaton. I suppose they are keeping the ... swamp... safe? Hmm. It's not like Tea Kettle has made any move to push further North, or has ever attacked Fort Trinity to the South. Whatever - it is there. That's all that Rox needs to know. I think it will be hard for her to prove herself with an army behind her though, especially one she doesn't lead.
Maybe she'll have better luck assisting Caithe with the Scarlet(?) distubance being investigated at Twilight Arbor. Sent her a letter via carrier pigeon wishing her the best of luck while I headed back to the deep woods of Sharandar (in Neverwinter Online) to continue the campaign against Malabog's forces. I still wonder how those fomors got there. Possibly a rift between the shadow realm and the feydark? Maybe I'll yet find out.
Met up with the charr ranger Rox at Sparkfly Fen recently. She was hunting the reincarnation of the local dragon "Tea Kettle" in the swamps to impress Tribune Brimstone. Stupid cats. Anyway I helped her out, finding numerous tracks of the beast as well as leftovers from the Shatterer and Jormag's little friend. Ironically during all of this I only encountered the last one up at Frostgorge Sound and helped the local army defeat him. Nothing really heroic about it when you have half a legion behind you combined with heavy firepower provided by the nearby stationary guns. The dragons in this land are stupid, they always seem to attack in the firing lanes of the cannons that await them. Not sure what else there was to do since none of the other beasts dared show their face while I was active (the cowards) so I moved on to other things.
I think Rox spotted a dragon.
I've since heard tell of the local militia swarming to Rox's aid, often spending many hours just waiting in anticipation for the arrival of their foe in the sticky, smelly swamp. I guess they find the waiting fun, or are they just waiting to have fun? Reports say the dragon has grown in strength - more often defeating or escaping from the angry mob than not. Commanders have taken it upon themselves to meld the troops into a well fused, fighting machine - posting tactics and requirements on the local forums. I had one look at this and rolled my eyes. I was never really one for filling a "role" like an automaton. I suppose they are keeping the ... swamp... safe? Hmm. It's not like Tea Kettle has made any move to push further North, or has ever attacked Fort Trinity to the South. Whatever - it is there. That's all that Rox needs to know. I think it will be hard for her to prove herself with an army behind her though, especially one she doesn't lead.
Maybe she'll have better luck assisting Caithe with the Scarlet(?) distubance being investigated at Twilight Arbor. Sent her a letter via carrier pigeon wishing her the best of luck while I headed back to the deep woods of Sharandar (in Neverwinter Online) to continue the campaign against Malabog's forces. I still wonder how those fomors got there. Possibly a rift between the shadow realm and the feydark? Maybe I'll yet find out.
Sunday, 8 September 2013
Box 2: A Less Super Adventure
Part of my Explorer of Tyria journal - you can find the rest here!
The first time the Super Adventure Box came out I had a total blast doing it. Now that it has returned with World 2, I'm finding it less fun than before - probably for the same reasons echoing throughout the forum. It's good to see that the creator fixed up some places that were causing major headaches after a few days though, and the infinity continue coin is a good gold sink which I happily sunk gems into. Definitely "pay to win" or at least, "pay to win faster" (which I think embodies regular "pay to win" anyway).
After the somewhat irritating level of the Frog King's swamp, players venture forth into the way more irritating rapids (knockback land - toned down), pain cliffs (insta dart death land) and storm top mountains (annoying ice slidey grind land). I went through on infantile mode first with the happy clouds to observe what horrors awaited me, followed my normal mode which was only slightly more troublesome but WAY too long in some bits that seemed designed purely to irritate the player, like having a mini-boss atop a slidey ice hill. You have to run up and evade his boulders and then whack him. Getting hit knocks you back down the long slope. On paper that's fine. But said mini-boss has so much HP that you'll probably do just that, over and over for 10 minutes. Difficult? No. Annoying? Yes. Fun? What do you think?
At least one of the long maps has a shortcut somewhere, but the irony is you have to clear half that level first to get an item before you can use said shortcut. If you think that's bad, there's a part where you need to purchase an item with 400 baubles to proceed through the level. There's no warning before reaching it, and I didn't find 400 baubles in the zone prior to reaching that point so you'd have to either be lucky or informed before attempting it, otherwise you'll hit a brick wall (frozen, actually) that will curb your fun level like an anvil dropped into the sea.
Lastly comes Tribulation Mode, which exists purely to create rage within the player. One wrong step and you die. Everything is out to kill you. The rocks, the flowers, the floor... everything. Fun in Tribulation Mode is finding the right path instead of grindy mechanics, and it's super cool. Despite my strange liking for this mode though, the very nature of latency is what is stopping me from enjoying it fully. I don't mind dying if I run into traps, but when I jump to the correct spots I expect to survive - and I do... 50% of the time. This is what annoys me most, and probably what will prevent me from completing tribulation. It sure would have stopped me from completing IWBTG. Here's an example of someone else experiencing this pain.
Story wise there's some evil, 4th wall breaking, AI in the box modelled after Moto (ala Tron, the new one) that wants to affect things on the outside. Not much more yet about this, but it's good that it is just more than a simple asuran VR game. My only issue with it is it could mean that the box is permanently destroyed after world 4 where as I'd rather that it became a permanent fixture in Rata Sum after world 4. *shrug* Would be a shame to throw out all this work right? Oh yeah, and Scarlet is still invading in the background randomly but she's mostly insignificant for this arc.
My very last concern is in the future of SAB. Could worlds 3 and 4 begin to introduce forced group content, which in my opinion is the worst design in the universe (like the aetherblade dungeon)? And if so, can the infinity continue coin negate it? This is the creator's response to someone who was having problems attempting things solo:
"This is as designed. Dungeons are designed for up to 5 people. If you choose to solo a dungeon you should expect this sort of thing. At least that’s how I look at it. Maybe because SAB doesn’t look like a dungeon there are different expectations? We did clearly communicate when you enter a world that 5 are recommended."
GW2 Dungeons sure. Five player 8-bit games? Unlikely.
The first time the Super Adventure Box came out I had a total blast doing it. Now that it has returned with World 2, I'm finding it less fun than before - probably for the same reasons echoing throughout the forum. It's good to see that the creator fixed up some places that were causing major headaches after a few days though, and the infinity continue coin is a good gold sink which I happily sunk gems into. Definitely "pay to win" or at least, "pay to win faster" (which I think embodies regular "pay to win" anyway).
After the somewhat irritating level of the Frog King's swamp, players venture forth into the way more irritating rapids (knockback land - toned down), pain cliffs (insta dart death land) and storm top mountains (annoying ice slidey grind land). I went through on infantile mode first with the happy clouds to observe what horrors awaited me, followed my normal mode which was only slightly more troublesome but WAY too long in some bits that seemed designed purely to irritate the player, like having a mini-boss atop a slidey ice hill. You have to run up and evade his boulders and then whack him. Getting hit knocks you back down the long slope. On paper that's fine. But said mini-boss has so much HP that you'll probably do just that, over and over for 10 minutes. Difficult? No. Annoying? Yes. Fun? What do you think?
At least one of the long maps has a shortcut somewhere, but the irony is you have to clear half that level first to get an item before you can use said shortcut. If you think that's bad, there's a part where you need to purchase an item with 400 baubles to proceed through the level. There's no warning before reaching it, and I didn't find 400 baubles in the zone prior to reaching that point so you'd have to either be lucky or informed before attempting it, otherwise you'll hit a brick wall (frozen, actually) that will curb your fun level like an anvil dropped into the sea.
Lastly comes Tribulation Mode, which exists purely to create rage within the player. One wrong step and you die. Everything is out to kill you. The rocks, the flowers, the floor... everything. Fun in Tribulation Mode is finding the right path instead of grindy mechanics, and it's super cool. Despite my strange liking for this mode though, the very nature of latency is what is stopping me from enjoying it fully. I don't mind dying if I run into traps, but when I jump to the correct spots I expect to survive - and I do... 50% of the time. This is what annoys me most, and probably what will prevent me from completing tribulation. It sure would have stopped me from completing IWBTG. Here's an example of someone else experiencing this pain.
Story wise there's some evil, 4th wall breaking, AI in the box modelled after Moto (ala Tron, the new one) that wants to affect things on the outside. Not much more yet about this, but it's good that it is just more than a simple asuran VR game. My only issue with it is it could mean that the box is permanently destroyed after world 4 where as I'd rather that it became a permanent fixture in Rata Sum after world 4. *shrug* Would be a shame to throw out all this work right? Oh yeah, and Scarlet is still invading in the background randomly but she's mostly insignificant for this arc.
In SAB, you grant the genie's wishes!
My very last concern is in the future of SAB. Could worlds 3 and 4 begin to introduce forced group content, which in my opinion is the worst design in the universe (like the aetherblade dungeon)? And if so, can the infinity continue coin negate it? This is the creator's response to someone who was having problems attempting things solo:
"This is as designed. Dungeons are designed for up to 5 people. If you choose to solo a dungeon you should expect this sort of thing. At least that’s how I look at it. Maybe because SAB doesn’t look like a dungeon there are different expectations? We did clearly communicate when you enter a world that 5 are recommended."
GW2 Dungeons sure. Five player 8-bit games? Unlikely.
Thursday, 5 September 2013
Roll of the Dice
Really been "off" lately by not being drawn into any of my usual games for prolonged periods of time. Maybe I'm just burned out, or it's the lack of Masterchef on TV, or simple procrastination (from games, what)? Whatever it is I'm going to try fight it using ... a six sided die.
Yerp! At least for the next week or so to see how well this system works. The idea is whatever I roll on the night is what I end up doing, but all results can get trumped by real life stuff or if my guildmates call for my aid somewhere, which rarely happens these days (they're pretty powerful too).
So, I'll see how I go with these:
1 - Guildwars 2
2 - Neverwinter Online
3 - Wizardry Online
4 - a Single Player Game of my choice
5 - Write guild related stories
6 - Anything else, NOT in the above!
Mabinogi isn't there on the list because it still doesn't want to update for me. I guess a total reinstall for it could happen on a roll of 6, so let's just see how this plays out...
Yerp! At least for the next week or so to see how well this system works. The idea is whatever I roll on the night is what I end up doing, but all results can get trumped by real life stuff or if my guildmates call for my aid somewhere, which rarely happens these days (they're pretty powerful too).
So, I'll see how I go with these:
1 - Guildwars 2
2 - Neverwinter Online
3 - Wizardry Online
4 - a Single Player Game of my choice
5 - Write guild related stories
6 - Anything else, NOT in the above!
Mabinogi isn't there on the list because it still doesn't want to update for me. I guess a total reinstall for it could happen on a roll of 6, so let's just see how this plays out...
Monday, 2 September 2013
Vying for my Attention
Interesting matchup this week between two of my "active" MMOs with Neverwinter Online's Summer Festival versus the return of the Super Adventure Box in Guildwars 2. Both are temporary events which will be gone in a few weeks and both will require some doing before I am "finished" with them. Going purely by the rewards, NWO wins out. Sure, SAB may have cool new skins that I also want but NWO is offering a mount and a companion which in the grand scheme of things is a more worthwhile reward. It's always functionality over fashion for me. Also the Summer Festival tasks are pretty trivial but this makes them severely grindy, especially when it comes to pseudo pvp in the race to harvest flowers. The festival has attracted many trolls to it, and most of them are of the player variety.
Conversely SAB will probably be more fun (/frustrating) to play, but is less rewarding. I am especially looking forward to the "Tribulation Mode" which the designer already stated weeks in advance is for a small minority of players. Specifically those who liked IWBTG (which I won). Can't help but wonder what the current villain is going to be doing while all the heroes go and play a video game though?
So what's a guy to do then? Play the field, obviously! Having an alternate to switch to after burning out in the other should work well in theory. I'll let you know how it goes in practice! Elsewhere, Disney has decided to close their kid MMO "Toontown". Nothing like a server wipe/shutdown experience for the youngins. They wished upon a star, but were a few millions years late. That star is dead. Just like their dreams.
Conversely SAB will probably be more fun (/frustrating) to play, but is less rewarding. I am especially looking forward to the "Tribulation Mode" which the designer already stated weeks in advance is for a small minority of players. Specifically those who liked IWBTG (which I won). Can't help but wonder what the current villain is going to be doing while all the heroes go and play a video game though?
A deceptively cute cover for a fiendishly tough game.
So what's a guy to do then? Play the field, obviously! Having an alternate to switch to after burning out in the other should work well in theory. I'll let you know how it goes in practice! Elsewhere, Disney has decided to close their kid MMO "Toontown". Nothing like a server wipe/shutdown experience for the youngins. They wished upon a star, but were a few millions years late. That star is dead. Just like their dreams.
Saturday, 31 August 2013
Preparation is Half the Battle
Part of my Explorer of Tyria journal - you can find the rest here!
Took a page out of Sisters of Tyria and decided to draw this update.^_^
Basically this stemmed when I noticed I carried some interesting stuff in my pack in Guildwars 2.
Took a page out of Sisters of Tyria and decided to draw this update.^_^
Basically this stemmed when I noticed I carried some interesting stuff in my pack in Guildwars 2.
Yep. Over 500. It's how I can solo the smaller invasion events if I have favorable terrain nearby. Slightly surprised more people don't head over to Fireheart Rise and buy them. More surprising is that this doesn't happen as often as you'd think:
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
Where to Next?
My brothers and I recently finished Diablo 3 (finally) and of all the enemies it was Belial, the half-way mark boss, that caused us the most trouble. Everything else pretty much got curb-stomped, the titular main baddie included. So what's next outside of Guildwars 2 where all the heroes will ignore Scarlet's threat to Tyria to return to the wacky world of the Super Adventure Box (I know I will) and the slow progress of Neverwinter Online's Fury of the Feywild (it decided to let me log in again)?
Well, there are rumors that World of Warcraft may be going F2P - if that's true then the guild would probably check out Azeroth if given the chance. Funny reading angry subscription players posting on their forums "Well, if it goes F2P I'll stop giving them money!" Yeah. That's the point. Whether WoW actually makes the switch is another matter. Also was somewhat interested in trying Granado Espada out upon stumbling on some of its awesome music again but caught myself thinking do I really need another MMO (which I'd probably play solo) right now? Instead I am just hunting down all the tracks to listen to.
What else am I looking forward to then? The Thief reboot for sure (which looks a lot like Dishonored), and to a lesser extent the next game in the Witcher series. I didn't actually play the first two but I watched my brother go through them and it was cool. Lastly I was introduced to some D&D cosplaying silliness which I found to be rather entertaining and funny: The Gamers: Dorkness Rising. Worth a look especially if you are or were a pen and paper RPG player. :)
I'm not that bad, honest!
Well, there are rumors that World of Warcraft may be going F2P - if that's true then the guild would probably check out Azeroth if given the chance. Funny reading angry subscription players posting on their forums "Well, if it goes F2P I'll stop giving them money!" Yeah. That's the point. Whether WoW actually makes the switch is another matter. Also was somewhat interested in trying Granado Espada out upon stumbling on some of its awesome music again but caught myself thinking do I really need another MMO (which I'd probably play solo) right now? Instead I am just hunting down all the tracks to listen to.
What else am I looking forward to then? The Thief reboot for sure (which looks a lot like Dishonored), and to a lesser extent the next game in the Witcher series. I didn't actually play the first two but I watched my brother go through them and it was cool. Lastly I was introduced to some D&D cosplaying silliness which I found to be rather entertaining and funny: The Gamers: Dorkness Rising. Worth a look especially if you are or were a pen and paper RPG player. :)
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