Star Wars: The Old Republic : Friday Update: Game vs. World and CommunityStar Wars: The Old Republic : Friday Update: Game vs. World and Community

 

As Community Manager here at MMORPG.com, this week’s Friday Update for Star Wars: The Old Republic touches on a subject dear to my heart: community! D’uh!

 

 

This week’s update is a new developer blog from Principal Lead Systems Designer Damion Schubert, who opens up by discussing the often controversial topic of MMO design philosophies: i.e. designing a “game” vs. a “world”:

Massively multiplayer games are not new. The first true massively multiplayer game was a text-only virtual world called MUD, put together by Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw in 1978. This little window of dizzying text descriptions was a far cry visually from the seductively lush 3D virtual worlds of today, but it was enough. Enough to get the genre started, and enough to get armchair designers across the world to imagine the possibilities, and debate philosophical matters of game design. One of these questions, still asked today, is whether or not massively multiplayer environments should strive to be games or to be worlds.

Advocates of the world philosophy see the space as a simulation or a sandbox. Fans of this viewpoint favor freedom and realism above all else – players have the ability to use and abuse almost anything around them, including other players. In ‘world’ MMOs, players tend to have a wide range of possible actions, most of which have relatively little depth. The depth of the world MMO comes from the interactions – players are urged to explore the world, and to find their own fun. The world MMO hates artificial constraints like classes or level requirements.

The game philosophy is quite the opposite, of course. Advocates of this view favor fun and balance more than anything. The game MMO is often described as being more like a theme park than a virtual world – player activity is tightly controlled, in such a way to help maximize the chance the player will have a fun, balanced and interesting combat experience and, in general, not be nasty to each other. The game MMO has no problem with introducing arbitrary rules to provide a tight, visceral gaming experience. Players can perform fewer actions, but these actions tend to have greater depth (such as a deeper, more balanced combat game).

In the end, Damion takes issue with both philosophies.With worlds, Damion finds these games can be much more harsh, less forgiving, and hard for newer players to get into. They are only as “good as the people who arrived before you.” This makes designers nervous. On the other hand, MMORPGs designed as “games” also have issues, mainly the lack of freedom, which is really the hallmark of MMOs.

So how does Star Wars: The Old Republic fall with regards to these two design philosophies? According to Damion, the game will be in the middle of the road, with the aim of utilizing the strength of both design philosophies, more specifically, providing “a directed and balanced game experience inside a lush, free-form Star Wars world.”

This is where Damion gets into that whole “Community” bit, something he feels has been missing in the game vs. world debate, and he goes on to describe how BioWare will be addressing this key third element with Star Wars: The Old Republic:

Community is the crazy notion that massively multiplayer games are more interesting when other players matter. Advocates of this viewpoint savor competition and cooperation above all else. Community-driven players want, above all else, to be able to interact and gather with other players, in a civil way. They share ideals with the other schools of thought: community-driven players tend to value balance and fairness, but they also want the freedom to express themselves and interact with others.

To me, as an MMO designer, community is the whole ball of wax. Let’s face it, if you wanted to play just a ‘game’, you’d be off playing a single player roleplaying game. If you wanted a ‘world’, maybe you’d play a life-simulation game. But community – well, that’s the whole ‘massively multiplayer’ part of MMO. When you look at it this way, ‘community’ is at least as important as ‘game’ or ‘world’ in this debate.

And probably more so.

Consider our multiplayer dialogue system. The Old Republic is in every way shape and form an MMO, though if a player desires to, they can solo all the way to max level – they’ll be missing some great content, but we don’t want players to feel they have to group. But we really want them to want to. As such, this has been an area of ripe experimentation for us, and has led us down some fruitful paths. Multiplayer conversations, where players can cooperate or compete to respond, has proven to be fun (and often hilariously so), in our playtesting (and no, another player cannot jack your dark side score with his response). But we’re not satisfied with just extrinsic rewards – we’re now experimenting with rewards that are unlocked for helping party members with class quest objectives, and we’re generally pleased with how it’s playing.

Damion also discusses community even with regards to crafting, he admits that the team has been unhappy with their various crafting implementations as they found players would be crafting almost exclusively for themselves. The intention is for dedicated crafters to be able to carve out a niche in their particular community and make a name for themselves. Such words bring up happy memories of my favorite crafters in Star Wars Galaxies to mind, unfortunately we’ll have to wait for a future letter to hear more about BioWare’s crafting plans.

Damion closes out the letter by promising that we’ll be hearing tons more from the various game designers in the coming months as they lockdown features and become comfortable talking about them. BioWare has stated they do not talk about things they aren’t 100% sure are in, and this could explain the limited scope of coverage we’ve seen thus far. Perhaps now that the game is further along, and continues to chug further along, we’ll be hearing more and more about the game’s features

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THE GOOD STUFFTHE GOOD STUFF

With the first full beta weekend of The Secret World behind us, we thought it’s time to list out the best possible aspects of Funcom’s latest game, and the parts that we feel need work before the game launches in June.  Now we’re not trying to start fires in the forums or anything.  So please try to keep the resulting discussions below civil.  This is just our honest feelings on what works grandly in The Secret World and what falls a little flat.We are a specialized, professional and reliable online supplier for guild wars  2 gold selling. We have been supplying fast and cheap guild wars  2  gold to our loyal andreliable customers for 7 years. If you want to buy guild wars  2  gold or get the latest news of cheap guild wars  2  gold, please come here. We provide not only the most competitive price but also the safest delivery and the best service for your cheap wow gold. Hope you enjoy buying guild wars  2  gold.

1.) The Setting – Funcom has always been Class-A when it comes to nailing the aesthetic and settings of their worlds.  From Anarchy Online to Dreamworld and Age of Conan, very few developers can compete with Funcom when it comes to capturing atmosphere of their source material or the creative vision of their writers.  The Secret World is no different.  Though we’ve only thus far seen bits and pieces, everything from Agartha to Kingsmouth has been gorgeously rendered and detailed.  The sense of foreboding in the latter is something we don’t see much of in MMORPGs.

2.) The Skill Wheel – Whoever decided early on in TSW’s design process to go with the skill system over the traditional leveling mechanics of modern theme-park MMOs deserves a round of applause.  Sure the skill points and anima points are essentially the same as levels from an “I earned experience and was rewarded with this” standpoint.  But the real kicker comes when you realize that statistical progression is tied only to gear (and not that important) and that someone who has been playing for a week could conceivably compete against someone who has been playing for a year… just so long as their deck is well-thought and their strategy is sound.

 

3.) The Story – Is it a bit contrived? I mean sure… but isn’t just about any story in any game lately? The sheer notion that Ragnar and Dag and the folks at Funcom have been plotting out this game’s story for a decade is mind-boggling, and the background, myths tied in, and mysteries laid before you are enough to keep you playing the game even if there as nothing else worthwhile (but there certainly is).  If you like a good yarn in your MMO, The Secret World is looking to deliver.

4.) The Questing – Do you still sometimes get told to kill stuff? Yep. But the story and cinematic presentation give it a boost in the arm.  As does the tiered approach, which has one mission first  tasking you with merely killing a mob, then tracing its trail of blood, and later decoding some mystery scrawled on a napkin in a diner (just an example).  Throw in the missions that have you sneaking through camera-infested security depots, and getting blown up by triggered explosives… and you have a recipe for lots of fun adventuring in The Secret World.

THE BAD STUFF

1.) The Floaty Combat – The skill system is great, its versatility amazing… but there’s something missing from the combat.  A real feeling of “oomph” when we hit enemies maybe? Out of all the weapons I personally tried over the past week, the one that felt the best was most definitely the hammer.  But even it had a certain something missing that’s hard to put a finger on.  Maybe it’s the sound, maybe it’s the placeholder animations. But a feeling of impact or visceral connection between the character and its foes. Graphical queues might help, or maybe I’m just too used to TERA.  But the main problem most of us had with TSW this week was the combat.  It works.  It just left us feeling a little flat.

2.) Awkward Animations – The dev team tells us that part of the problem that comes with allowing the characters to run freely while using any skill in the game is that the upper body cannot be tied to the lower body.  This means sometimes the animations will look a little stilted.  But we feel this might actually be part of the problem with the combat feeling somehow off.  Anyway, we’re told that the animations will receive a lot of improvement in later builds so we’re anxious to see as much.

3.) Character Creation – Another thing that reportedly has a lot more options in later betas, but we have to mention it here.  On the press server, everyone pretty much looked the same.  And in a game that emphasizes players being able to look however they want separately from their stats, we were hoping for a few more options to say the least.  I want to make a real Ron Swanson, darn it.

One thing that should be mentioned: the core of our problems with The Secret World result to a simple matter of polish.  The crux of the game is absolutely stellar. It’s unique and enthralling, and we cannot wait to see how PVP works out later too.  If Funcom can tweak and alter the animations and combat, as well as give us more depth in character creation, I’ll be a happy camper.  I can say this, though: despite our misgivings, I can’t stop wanting to play The Secret World. And that’s what matters. It still hooks you.

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Something in BetweenSomething in Between

Gamespot  has interviewed Jack Emmert and confirmed that Cryptic Studios is indeed working on an online version of Neverwinter Nights. The game will neither be a traditional MMO, nor will it be a single player RPG, Neverwinter Nights 3. The game, according to the article, is something in between. In truth, the new game sounds rather Diablo-ish in its interpretation: Players connect to a server and are ‘encouraged to play cooperatively’. Building tools will also be released as in previous games.A massive amount of tera gold is ready to decorate your tera  world. Anytime you run out of gold, just tell us! Ample stock also guarantees the fastdelivery. Have a helpful customer service when you buy wow gold is really nice. Luckily we got a customer service team just like that. Please do feel free contact us if you have any questions. We are here for you around the block.

The new game will focus on the D&D 4th edition rules and will be launched in concert with R.A. Salvatore’s new trilogy, Gauntlgrym, the first book of which is set to be published this fall. The game will take place in a world where Neverwinter has fallen into ruins:

GS: We also understand that the game is being launched in tandem with Gauntlgrym, the first book in an all-new Neverwinter novel trilogy by author R.A. Salvatore. Tell us about the game’s story and how it will evolve alongside the new books.

JE: The game is set a little over 100 years into the future, and Forgotten Realms is recovering from an epic catastrophe: the death of the god of magic triggered a massive “spellplague” that swept across Faerun and changed everything it touched.

The Salvatore trilogy touches on all the events leading up to the game and, most importantly, how Neverwinter fell. Through these great novels, readers will get a taste of the Neverwinter world, characters, and enemies.

At some point, Neverwinter was laid waste. Why? No one really remembers at this point. The players will need to find out what happened and whether it’ll reoccur…
 

 

October Ask CrypticOctober Ask Cryptic

 

in the latest Star Trek Online Ask Cryptic, players have a host of questions for the development team around the newly-introduced Weekly Episodes. Fans and players submitted twenty-nine questions to the Cryptic devs around topics including repeatable end-game content, whether or not player housing for guilds and fleets is on the radar and a whole lot more.Our team provide professional sto gold, Power Leveling service and services for many other online games .It’s not wrong to choose us to buy sto gold. we would do our best tohelp you enjoy your game,our company  is the professional and efficient which leading MMORPG service company. We has been engaged in online game virtual items exchange for 6 years and has gained a lot of experiences

Q: Xaben: …Could you tell us more about those set-items?

Dstahl: We will be introducing an item set in the Season 3 release. These items are new special rewards for completing the STFs. These items are thematic Borg components that when equipped on your ship not only provide the stat bonus with the set, but with each item you slot, unique Borg FX and GEO is added to your ship model (we expect this to work with almost all ships). The concept comes from Voyager where they added specific Borg tech to their ship in order to survive specific encounters in the Gamma Quadrant. They look pretty cool. Here’s a screenshot of an Escort enhanced with these items.

 

 

The PvP QuestionThe PvP Question

In the latest Guild Wars 2 column here at MMORPG.com, Bill Murphy takes a look at the elephant in the room: PvP and Guild Wars 2. There is very little known about one of the most popular aspects of the original Guild Wars and how it will be brought into its successor. He’s got a few thoughts about Guild Wars 2 and PvP so be sure to take a look. Weigh in with a few of your thoughts below.We have more than 5 years of experience and can easily pass that on to our customers.We provide the cheapest guild wars 2 gold all the servers and the first class service to our loyal and reliable customers. We have available stock of guild wars 2 gold on most of the servers, so that we can do a really instant way of delivery. We understand what our buyers need so we offer an instant way of delivery

The original Guild Wars is known not only for its unique and engaging story but also for its highly competitive brand of player versus player combat. It’s odd then that most of the content ArenaNet has spoken of or shown at various gaming shows has nothing to do with PvP. In fact, there’s very little we know about the highly anticipated sequel’s plans for competitive combat. So far, we know that the game will have PvP and that some of it will take the form of Server versus Server (World vs. World) combat. We also know that it will have a structured PvP system where players can come and go in matches as they please, making the system “hot-joinable”. What any of that really means is anyone’s guess.

 
 
 

Trooper RevealedTrooper Revealed

 

A new character class has been fleshed out on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic site. The Trooper is a front line specialist that can refine his or her skills wit the Vanguard and Commando advanced classes. Troopers also have Tanno Vik as a companion, one of those demolition experts who loves his dangerous and life-threatening work.Our team provide professional swtor gold, Power Leveling service and services for many other online games .It’s not wrong to choose us to buy swtor gold. we would do our best to help you enjoy your game,our company  is the professional and efficient which leading MMORPG service company. We has been engaged in online game virtual items exchange for 6 years and has gained a lot of experiences

Always on the front lines of battle against the Empire, Troopers seize every tactical advantage at their disposal to defend the Republic. With combat experience and intense training, Troopers can specialize to increase their battlefield prowess. The Trooper’s Advanced Classes will allow you to customize your Trooper to match your desired playstyle: improve your Trooper’s defensive tactics and capabilities to become a nearly unstoppable Vanguard, or go all-out on offense and become a deadly Commando.

 

 

 

 

 

The Republic TrooperThe Republic Trooper

In his latest Star Wars: The Old Republic column, MMORPG.com Community Manager Michael Bitton takes a look at the Republic Trooper. While announced early on, the Bioware dev team recently expanded the available information about the Trooper. Mike takes a look at the new information and offers a few thoughts. Read on and then be sure to leave us a comment or two below.Our team provide professional swtor gold, Power Leveling service and services for many other online games .It’s not wrong to choose us to buy swtor gold. we would do our best to help you enjoy your game,our company  is the professional and efficient which leading MMORPG service company. We has been engaged in online game virtual items exchange for 6 years and has gained a lot of experiences

Before I knew that the Imperial Agent (my class of choice) would be a playable class in Star Wars: The Old Republic I’d already set my sights on playing the Trooper, who was one of the first classes announced for The Old Republic (the first being the Bounty Hunter). Don’t get me wrong, the Bounty Hunter was a cool enough looking class, but I’ve always liked the idea of playing a simple trooper in Star Wars, going all the way back to Star Wars Galaxies where instead of chasing the Jedi unlock I preferred to don a suit of Stormtrooper armor, wield an E-11 and blast some Rebels away. Heck, I even enjoyed the Star Wars: Republic Commando video game released several years back.

 
 

DC Universe : Launch PreviewDC Universe : Launch Preview

 
it’s no secret that MMORPG.com’s Bill Murphy has been looking forward to this day with great excitement: It’s DC Universe Online launch day! In his Launch Preview, Bill outlines the good and the not-so-good about DC Universe Online as he’s experienced the game throughout the beta. It’s a terrific look at the game and something to give you a step up as you anticipate your own heroic adventures. Check it out!
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the game, but this isn’t about my own personal preference for the action found in SOE’s latest release. This is about me going through the ups and downs of the game as they stand right now and making a suggestion to all of you who might be on the fence, sitting at your desk, hovering over the button to pay for and download your own copy. DC Universe is going to be a very divisive game in its first month or two. It’s not exactly a standard-fare MMO, and for as many things it does well it does others poorly. People will argue over why crafting is not included, and they will argue over the decision to have only six power sets and limit the amount of skills on one’s hot-bar. But ultimately, at the end of the day, I believe that SOE has designed a truly compelling experience that is only limited by the expectations you have going into it.If you are still finding a legit dcuo Gold Seller which can offer you Cheap dcuo Gold. You really need to check our company. Buy dcuo Gold from here can save your money a big time, as well as give you a chance to win Free dcuo  Gold.

 

Seven Random E3 2011 ThoughtsSeven Random E3 2011 Thoughts

 

After attending last week’s E3 convention in Los Angeles, MMORPG.com Lead Writer Bill Murphy has a few random thoughts about the things he both saw and experienced. And, yes, Hulk Hogan makes his presence felt in The List. Check it out!

This is going to be a decided un-MMO centric List this week. In honor of the closing of the biggest show in gaming, we thought we’d go through a few of our biggest surprises from the show, and that includes games and devices from just about every corner of the industry. We saw a ton of games, gizmos, and other odds and ends from Tuesday through Thursday, and just about all of them had something to offer. But these are just a few of all the things we experienced which really jumped out of nowhere and made us smile.all of the conditions , terms and conditions and everything that were contained in  tera power leveling package will accomodated when guest’s order finished,or the compensation directly propotional  to unfinishd parts of package will replaced by new gears,or corresponding gold

 

 

 

Embers of Caerus Seeking SupportEmbers of Caerus Seeking Support

Forsaken Studios, developers of Embers of Caerus, is an independent development studio that is seeking help from its community to fund the creation of EoC. all of the conditions , terms and conditions and everything that were contained in  tera power leveling package will accomodated when guest’s order finished,or the compensation directly propotional  to unfinishd parts of package will replaced by new gears,or corresponding gold

According to the Embers of Caerus website, the dev team was crecheaated because members were “tired of companies not quite getting it right, or worse selling out in order to earn more money from what producers deem to be the more lucrative markets (Easier content, real money item shops etc).” As a result, the group is now working on the project as a 100% volunteer team.

However, development of games can be costly and the Forsaken Studios group is asking its fans to help out with costs by implementing a donation opportunity. Donations can be made in any amount but there are perks for folks who donate anywhere between five and twenty dollars per month.

Find out more about the game project and/or how you can donate on the Embers of Caerus page.