Is it Really “Just a Game”? September 25, 2008
Posted by Kendricke in General Game Concepts.3 comments
At least once every day, I see an argument where someone uses the phrase “it’s just a game” to push a point. Usually, the point being raised has something to do with how we shouldn’t take MMO’s so seriously. To be fair, there’s a certain amount of truth to be found there. After all, when we remove all the discussions about mechanics, art, balance, servers, and what have you, what we’re really discussing is simply “just a game”, isn’t it?
Isn’t it?
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Hit the Road, Jack… September 25, 2008
Posted by Kendricke in The Gaming Industry.Tags: jack thompson
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Scam Warning for Guild Recruiters September 24, 2008
Posted by Kendricke in Everquest 2.Tags: guild recruiting, RMT, scams
2 comments
Guild officers and recruiters: listen up. There’s a couple of scams going around regarding guild membership.
I already knew about one scam that plat sellers were using, where they’d try to get invites to your guild just so they could use guildchat from one of the free trials in order to spam your guild with platinum ads.
There’s another scam going around though, as mentioned by Stargrace over at MMOQuests. Basically, someone tries to join your guild at random. Once they’re in, they try to convince you they’re actually one of your current officers so you’ll promote this new character. The problem is that they aren’t really who they say they are, and the moment you promote them, you risk your guildbank and your membership. They can then cash in on the items in-game in order to inflate their platinum totals, which they then turn around and sell. Refuse to promote them and they leave your guild…presumably to move on to find the next potential mark.
Fifty Guards! September 23, 2008
Posted by Kendricke in Everquest 2.Tags: Update 49
2 comments
From today’s Everquest II Test notes:
The maximum number of guild hall guards you can hire has been increased to 50
I love this change. It has zero effect on my gameplay. It won’t make raids easier for my guild. It won’t give us any type of in-game bonus or increase our faction with the Qeynos Guard. Not. One. Bonus.
I still love this change.
Test Update 49: It has Electrolytes!! September 17, 2008
Posted by Kendricke in Everquest 2.Tags: Update 49
4 comments
When I first read the notes for Everquest II: Test Update 49, I couldn’t help but get those “Brawndo” ads out of my head. Update 49 is coming and it’s a whopper of a patch!
The short list:
- Guild Halls
- Dual Core Support
- Massive Mentor Bonuses
- Buffs on the Run!
- Shadows Fixed
- Cure Potion Revamp
- Scalable Furniture
- Darklight Druid Ring!
For the first time in months, I had guild members in chat last night asking about how to copy characters to Test. It’s as SOE has taken a list of some of the most asked for fixes and functions, then wrapped them up in a neat little bow, slapped a “49″ sticker on the box and told us it was our birthday. There isn’t anything in Update 49 I don’t like so far.
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What Level Are You, Anyway? September 5, 2008
Posted by Kendricke in The Gaming Industry.Tags: game reviews
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Sanya Weathers put up a great commentary over at Eating Bees today regarding MMO reporters who review game content they haven’t personally experienced. Though she doesn’t mention specific names, I could easily picture several reviews or posts I’ve read over the past year or so that frustrated me when it became apparent that that the articles were written without any direct personal experience.
Update 48 - An Early Review September 4, 2008
Posted by Kendricke in Everquest 2.Tags: Game Update, GU48, Veksar, Everfrost, Revamps
1 comment so far
Well, Update 48 went live in Everquest II yesterday. Though you can certainly catch the full notes elsewhere, I’d like to analyze the patch in more detail to hopefully stir some discussion on what was good and what was not.
Generally speaking, I’m fairly positive on Veksar, the Everfrost revamp, and the removal of the access quest requirement in order to fight Godking Anuk’Asul. I’m less glowing with regards to the Guild Points system and the bugs in general that were found within this particular release.
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Group Five September 3, 2008
Posted by Kendricke in Everquest 2.Tags: casual, Guilds, Raiding
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For over two years now, my guild has raided three nights per week, trying our best to gear up and progress through dungeon after dungeon. Because we’re a relatively casual guild, we tend to have a much larger roster than we need for raiding, which means I’m often put in a position where I have to bench members who had showed up to raid.
Tonight, we start a fourth weekly raid night with a slightly different goal. I’m calling it “reverse priority raid”. At least some of my members have already referred to it as our “group five raid night”.
For me, I’m calling it a reverse priority night because my goal isn’t to progress the overall raid force per se. In fact, I fully expect to bench some of best geared and most veteran members tonight. The reason for this is because I set up Wednesdays specifically to have one night each week that those members who get benched on other nights (”priority nights”) get to raid. This is also why some of my members are calling it “group five night”.
Because in Everquest II, there are only four groups in a raid. As we form up the raid, we have members joining specific groups (Laldail to Group 2, Rapscal to Group 1, etc.). In my guild, when members are asked to sit out, they’ve taken to jokingly referring to themselves as “Group 5″.
Whatever it’s called, tonight is their night.
