About Vanguard

Everyone talks about Vanguard and that there is something there but they are never really sure what it is. So I started thinking about it. It isn’t really any of the features in the game. Not to say the game doesn’t have some great features but because it really does. The LFG options and encounter window are both great features. Especially now that they got the LFG function working.  But I don’t want to get off my topic.

So I think it really comes down to the content. The fact that the game was an open slat for lore has to be what everyone is holding on to. In today’s world of IP licensing there isn’t any real room for creativity. The devs cannot really get to far off the path or the fans will start screaming. Whereas in Vanguard the world is an open slate. You can really see in your travels all the work that went into the design of each dungeon.  No two places really look alike and each dungeon has its own lore behind it. Heck even each city has its own history. 

It is a game that needs to be saved not because of its failures and that there are plenty of. But because it really show what talented developers can do when they are given a free ran to do it in. So many places in Vanguard are there because designers and programmers worked on it in their spare time.  That also leads to the fact that the lore is incomplete and that some dungeons seem to stop short. It will be a hard task for SOE to save the game because most of what makes the game worth saving isn’t on paper but in the minds of the many talented people that worked on the game.

Amirah

I felt I need some new clothes so I did a little shopping.  

 

PvP

I was catching up on my blogs today and there is a great discussion going on about PvP and WAR.

Tobold’s

Hardcore Casual

I tend to fall more on the Tobold side of the line but both are great discussions.

Gaming Week 4

Well no Vanguard group again this week. Not really a good excuse behind it this time. A lot of it has to do with the fact I don’t really feel a drive to play it. The fact the SOE has scaled the staff so far back is the real culprit. Including the time in beta I have been playing for more then a year now. Outside of APW the only new group area that has been added is Tricksters Hideout. There are areas in the game that could be great but need a lot of attention to get them up and working.  Now I haven’t wrote it off my list or anything but I think I am going to sit back and wait maybe six to nine months before I start to comet any serious time to it.

On to a little FPS action I did a little stop in CoD4 multiplayer. Needless to say I wasn’t impressed with that part of the game. I have never really cared for an experience system in a shooter game. I also got in some Counter Strike Source also and that was great. I have a few servers on my favorites list and all in all had a blast. I did learn that I do need to work on my skills a lot. Even though I had more deaths then frags I still had a good time.

The big MMO for me right now is Everquest 2. I have just been having a great time since I came back to the game. With the 2 expansion that I missed it is like a whole new game. After several hours of searching to day I found the commands I needed to turn off some of the titles and tags people have in there name. In Vanguard I can hit N and turn off peoples names it seems that you can not do that in EQ2. It is possible to turn of titles and guild tags. I guess that will have to do. I just really want to clean up the clutter on my screen during raids.

The raid Tuesday went well. We did guild raids one and two again. The second raid didn’t go as well as the first. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that it was getting late, we where one short and are level was a lot lower. The level difference probably had the biggest effect. I think last week where mentored in the 30’s and this week we where at 27 and 28.

I do have a rant this week and I just have to get it off my chest. Why is it that with Kingdome of Sky every teleport is a time sink. I mean really the dock bells are instant the carpet to Burning Sands is instant. Why is it that with KoS I have to wait at the alters and at docks for boats all the time. I have to get on a boat and ride it to from TS to BB but I can just warp to NF that makes no freaking sense at all. I could keep going with this rant but I think I will stop it here. Something tells me that this is going to be the one thing that just always drives me crazy in the game.

Content and Groups

In my opinion the whole bases behind an MMO is to group. Really with out the group all you have is a really bad RPG. The level system is a necessary evil in any MMO but any thing that can be done to remove that as a barrier to grouping should be done. All MMO’s in development should have a mentoring system in place. EQ2 is by far at the forefront on this. The fact that you can go from level 80 to level 1 so that you can group with you friends is great.

I think this should go on step further. A lot of games have to go back and revisit there content and change it from group based to solo or small group.  Now with the current system I complete agree with this. WoW did it in there last patch and EQ2 has increased the mob experience level from six to 10 so you can get experience from guest and mobs that you didn’t use to. I propose a system where a player would earn points for mentoring and assisting other player’s complete objectives. So if you are mentored down and helping some one complete a heritage quest in EQ2 or an Epic quest in WoW you would be gaining assist points. You could then use those points for items in game.

Imagine in EQ2 a system like this. One of the rewards is a flying dragon mount that cost a million points. When some one shouted “Looking for help with Return of the Light Bringer” you would get tells from 30 people in a matter of seconds. People would be watching chat looking to help people even asking people if they needed help. The community would grow. Developers wouldn’t have to go back and spend resources redoing content. Content would never be outdated and new players would never feel alone in the world.

The rewards could be any number of things. Special mounts, clothing items even housing items. Maybe titles or a ranking system to show how helpful a player you are. The rewards would have to be useful to all levels so that even people in the midlevel range would find it beneficial to mentor.

Gaming Week #3

Well it was another good week. To start off with I did manage to complete Half-Life2 Episode 2 and Portal this weekend and both are great. The way the story line continues in Episode 2 was just amazing. It was a much longer expansion then Episode 1 and I have to say a lot better. The game play of Portal was just incredible I would recommend Portal as a must have game for anyone. Then add on the excitement that the story arc adds to Half-Life and it just makes you wanting Episode 3 even more. I also played the Lost Coast part also. I was a little surprised that the recommend proc speed is a 2.9 for it but my dual core seemed to handle it just fine.

I also went on my first raid in EQ2 with Revelry and Honor this weekend. This was the first time I had really grouped with a lot of the RnH folks and it went really well. We managed to knock out the first two guild raids in just a few hours time. I have to say I was really impressed with the group as a whole. The fact that they want to mentor down and feel the experience of the raid and not just gray it out is rather refreshing. One just has to remember that you can not mentor when already mentoring some one. I did get another one of my heritage quest done, knock out 2 levels and burn all my rest exp.

Once again I didn’t make it into Vanguard. Half-Life just really seemed to draw me in to it. I was a little disappointed to find out that they only have two devs working on all 16 classes. I think I am with most people there really is something in Vanguard. It could really become something given the right resources. Unfortunately I feel that it has entered gray mode in the world of SOE.

I am going to try and get back to my topic on content and groups later this week. I have been bouncing my thoughts off a few people and getting some great feedback.  

Subscriptions, Playtime and RMT

Economics dictates that for a business to grow revenue must increase. With that in mind the current subscription plans will need to change.  Everyone can already hear the words RMT coming closer and closer. Some people fear RMT and see it as the death of MMO’s  and who really wants constantly be shelling out money every game session. So here is the way I see it.

We have been lucky over the years and haven’t seen the MMO price wars. That is all going to change.  $15 a month is really the max price point. Any higher than that and you would lose more subscribers then money you would make.  I know $15 is really my price limit for one game I would be hard pressed to pay more than that for access to just one game.  I currently have station access but that is more because of my Sunday Vanguard group than anything else.  With the current state of Vanguard I am not for sure how much longer that will last. SOE has been trying to push the access plan for several years now and people just really are not taking it. I think that has more to do with the SOE line up of game than just the business model.  Really for a AAA studio you would think they would have more hits on their hands. Now I know I would be more than willing to shell out 20 bucks or even 25 for a PlayNC all access account. But I do have a hard time paying $15 a month for even one of their games. Now who wouldn’t want to jump into some tights and be a super hero or villain for few hours a week? Couple that with the twitch game play of TR and add in DR for a little RPG fun I could easily find myself playing each game a little bit each week.  

The other option I see coming over the next year will be the pay to play model. Here instead of paying $15 a month for the game you would just buy so many hours at a time.  Think of it like pre-paid cell phones run out of time go get more.

RMT’s are a reality coming to an MMO near you. By the end of the year you will see an RMT system in every MMO out. No longer will your $15 a month give you everything.  You will not see anything game breaking in the RMT system it will just be add on things.  Need some extra bank slots? How about another character slot? Want a bigger house? It can all be yours only an RMT click away. So no you will not be able to buy the uber sowed.  RMT systems will be most widely used in smaller games. Companies that are more dependent on micro transactions then monthly fees. Look at Gaia Online and how much revenue they generate off of a simple $2.50 monthly collectable item.

How much would you pay for a monthly collectable in EQ2 or WoW?

Would you pay $5 for 50 hours of Tabula Rasa?

Gaming Week #2

Well this weekend Half-Life 2 really got most of my attention. I did manage to get through the game and Episode One. I am working on Episode Two and wow the steam engine just looks great. The story line in Half-Life is just compelling. The fact that the game is more then just kill everything to the end is one of the things that keeps me playing. You really have to think your way through the game and solve some problems. I haven’t even started to play Portal yet but my son seems to really be enjoying it.

I plan on finishing Episode Two this coming weekend. I haven’t really decided if I want to get Crysis or Loki. I am thinking about taking a break from the FPS arena for a while and checking out a little RPG action.

I did manage to pull my self away from Half-Life for a little Vanguard and EQ2 but not much. I would like to think all my guildes that helped me finish my Light Bringer quest. I also managed to bang out level 30 and ding 31. Not a whole lot to say about Vanguard we just worked on Wardship faction some more.

I should have more to talk about next week. There is a raid planed in EQ2 Saturday that I am going to try and get in on. I also want to hit level 32 with my illusionist.  Until next time.

What Happened to Content?

What Happened to Content?

MMO’s have gotten really bad a telling a story. No longer is there any depth to the quest. You get these quick quests that are just about getting the experience then you move on to the next one. The faster you complete the quest the fast you get to the next level. There is no more story telling.

I have been playing Half-Life 2 the past few weeks now and the story line in the game just keeps pulling you into it. I played Knights of the Old Republic and it did the same thing. I feel lucky that I do have a content group in Vanguard that like me wants to see everything in the game and not just get to the next level. With Everquest 2 it is just log in bang out a few levels burn the rest xp then let it sit tell the next week. What happened to the lore in games? Look at all the games that have been coming out there is no compelling group story lines.

The problem the way I see it is simple. Let’s look at a heritage quest from EQ2 first. You have this quest that is just incredibly long and will most likely span several gaming sessions. Trying to get a pick up group to work on it sucks. Either you try and find people that are at the same place as you have to group with people that are behind you and help them get caught up with you. So out of a 4 hour gaming session you spend 30 minutes trying to get a group together to work on it. Then 2 hours getting everyone caught up to where you are at. Toss in 30 minutes worth of AFK breaks and you get to advance your line for an hour. Vanguard doesn’t have heritage quest but they do have store lines in areas that take almost as much work to complete them. CIS, Minds Crown, and Pantheon just to name a few.

The fix from the mind if Dar.

First keep the story in the same area. I think Vanguard does this part well. The in-depth story arcs don’t generally take you all over the world. CIS pretty much all happens around maybe 4 chunks. Pantheon of the Ancients all takes place in the same dungeon. I for one don’t like spending my time standing around trying to find a group and then have to wait for everyone to get to the same spot. With the story content all in the same area people in that area are generally working on that story line. Go to CIS pick up a CIS group go to Pantheon get a Pantheon group.

Next make the quest more flexible. Instead of having a straight line to get to the end break the quest down in to parts where you can do the parts in different orders. Why does it have to be go do this this this. Why not go do this list of stuff in no particular order and come back when you are done. You complete the first five tasks and then you get the next five. That way you don’t always have to get people caught up with where you are at but you can still advance quest lines.

I am going to cut this off here and come back to it later this week.

A New Year Week 1

I have decided to go to more of a weekly updated about my gaming experience for the week. I don’t really have the time to stay up to date on all the great blogs that are out there. When I am at my computer I tend to want to spend more time in the games I play and talking to my friends on voice. Unless something happens in the industry that I feel really strongly about I am just going to talk about the games I play.

I did get Call of Duty 4 for Christmas. Now the last FPS that I played was Fry Cry so it had been a while. I really enjoyed the game while I was playing it. I was a little disappointed that the single player campaign was so short. So right after I bet it I went out and got Half Life 2. Once I fired up Half Life 2 all the flaws of CoD4 came out.

First off it only took me maybe 10 hours to bet CoD4 now I started playing Half Life 2 on Sunday and after three days of very heavy game play I think I am a little over half way through it. Now every thing I have played over the past few years even MMO’s has a map and a pointer telling my where to go. So here I am right at the beginning of the game I get off the train and wait there is now map. Ok so where is my compass and pointer telling my where to go. Nope nothing you mean I have to really think here. I feel in love with the game after 30 minutes. Here is a game that is making my think not just run in a certain direction and kill every thing in my way. I enjoyed CoD4 while I was playing it but something tells me it will be collecting dust on the shelf now. About the only thing that drives me crazy in the game is the weapon switching the Valve uses. It does take a while to get use to the treed weapon system.

I did play a little Vanguard and EQ2 this weekend also.  Sunday’s content group in Vanguard was great. We finished up are CIS quest lines and got are Ageless One weapons. That’s three glow weapons for me now. We also started work on are Wardship faction also. We still have a lot of work to do there but we will get it done. My content group on Sunday’s is about the only grouping I do all week so I have really started to look forward to it. We are all on the same page with what we are doing and exploring the content in the game.

In EQ2 I didn’t do much. I did get a few levels and am up to 30 on my Illusionist. That is about all I can say about that.

I also listened to VirginWorlds Podcast #98. While I don’t agree with everything they had to say over all it was another good podcast by Brent. Until next time.