We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

LOTRO F2P Delayed In Europe

Gordon — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:29:04 +0000

He's going to need a bigger sword

Today is the day Lord Of the Rings Online goes free to play around the world… or rather part of it. I rushed home from work all excited to get back into Gondor and tickle some Hobbits (or whatever it is people do with Hobbits) only to boot up the patcher and find a rather disappointing little message waiting for me:

“Given the complexities and challenges faced in the preparation and implementation of the new store to work within our infrastructure, we feel more time is needed to deliver the high level of service our players have quite rightly come to expect. As a result, we have decided to delay launch to ensure that we can support the massive increase in players that we are anticipating and deliver them a Free to Play experience like none other.”

Mike Rowland, Producer of LOTRO

Europe gets shafted again.

OK, maybe that’s a little harsh but it is incredibly frustrating to frequently be on the receiving end of delays, set-backs and problems just because one happens to live on the same continent as the creator of the croissant. I had high hopes for LotRO, especially as DDO Unlimited never materialised in Europe, and am disappointed to see this delay happening now, particularly as we had no prior warning about it and there’s absolutely no information about a new release date. /sadface

Well, I suppose chin up and all that, chums. At the end of the day delivering a smooth launch is probably going to be more benefical to the long term success of the game and I would rather it go well than be a complete balls up and put me off the game forever. Anyway, if I’m honest, I’m seriously considering just forking out for a months subscription so I can play the darn thing rather than wait goodness knows how long before F2P finally launches in Europe. A more cynical man than myself might suggest that’s what Turbine are hoping for but, well, I’m not a cynic so I won’t.

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

LOTRO F2P Delayed In Europe

The Company, The People Or The IP?

Gordon — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:10:01 +0000

The employees of 38 Studios patiently await being devoured by the Sarlacc's younger, and less imposing, brother

With all of the new MMORPGs on the horizon I’ve been pondering what it is about some of the games that attracts me to them and not to others. Is it the company behind the game that makes me excited or the reputation of the individual people or just the fact that it’s based on a particular intellectual property? Also seeing as it’s been a while since I last published a poll (it was decided by the slim majority that I will indeed sacrifice my dominance of all MMO worlds for the sake of begetting children, as my wife was pleased to discover), I figured I’d make this into a fun little group activity whilst I was at it.

A few years ago I would’ve readily answered that it was the IP, and probably only the IP, that attracted me to a new MMO. I was so desperate to play Star Wars Galaxies for instance, not because it was a SOE game or designed by Raph Koster but simply because it centered around the largest, most singular focused obsession of my young adolescence. I knew everything about Star Wars, played all of the video games, card games, roleplaying games and even sat up at night reading the encyclopedia (oh how I was so popular with the ladies). SWG was the pinnacle of a 21 year old wet dream and I was foaming at the mouth for it. Unfortunately, just like most wet dreams, it failed to meet my expectations and my excitement was over quicker than I could say “pass the towel” please. I learned a value lesson from that experience: IPs don’t make or break a game.

Companies also come in all shapes and sizes with a multitude of reputations causing some people to totally adore them or utterly despise them. Blizzard, SOE, Funcom, Mythic, all veterans of the MMO industry backed by armies of loyal supporters or opposed by fervent dissenters. Again, I used to hold certain companies in high esteem and got excited for their products simply because it was they who made them… and I still do. I’m rather hyped up about the forthcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic mainly because I’ve loved almost all of BioWare’s previous games and thus give them a certain amount of latitude and benefit of the doubt. Of course, companies aren’t always right and we’ve even see giants such as Mythic take a nose dive even when their armed with powerful IPs and huge budgets. It goes to show that our trust in companies doesn’t always pay off.

Which brings me onto the people themselves, the guys behind the companies, and the often unsung and unknown heroes moulding the IPs into playable experiences. As I’m starting to learn more about the MMO industry and becoming more familiar with the individuals behind the games through news sites, blogs and forums, I’m starting to lean more and lean towards putting my faith in the guys and girls themselves rather than faceless corporations or glitzy IPs. You only need to look at a company like 38 Studios which has great designers like Steve Danuser and Ryan Shwayder and visionaries like Curt Schilling to become inspired by the fact that they simply want to great the games that we’ll love and they’ll be proud off. However, as we saw with Raph Koster and Metaplace, sometimes even the greatest talents don’t yield success.

It’s a tricky one to say the least but, I guess at the end of the day, it’s probably a combination of everything that attracts me to a MMO although right now I suppose I’m leaning more towards the people than any of the other factors. What about you?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

The Company, The People Or The IP?

The Best Of The Rest: Kindle Edition

Gordon — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:22:09 +0000

The Kindle. Great for storing 35,000 books. Not so great for reading in the bath.

As I’ve pretty much told everyone on the planet already, I got the new Amazon Kindle last week and I’m incredibly thrilled with it. Ever since I had to lug around the megalithic Under The Dome Stephen King hardcover last year I’ve been obsessed with getting an eReader but unfortunately had to dismiss the notion completely because the availability of ebooks in the UK was so poor. And by poor I mean we had like five books available to buy, all of them Harry Potter (and, having attended a British Potter-esque private school myself, I’d rather eat my own vomit then read the books).

However, a couple of months ago my prayers were answered when Amazon not only announced the release of their latest Kindle in the UK but also their complete US ebook collection. Finally, almost all of my favourite authors were available in ebook format so I pre-ordered a Kindle immediately. Eight weeks later and I’m reading more than I’ve done for years and loving every minute of it.

But enough about me. Time to highlight the best of the blogosphere from the last seven days:

The Adventurer Historian introduces us to Terminator 2: The Opera.
Yetian contemplates marriage in MMOs.
Ferrel shares some photos from DragonCon.
CrazyKinux gets published in PC Gamer!
Stabs reckons EQ2X is gonna be huge.
Spinks shares some thoughts on blogrolls and social networks.
Wolfshead reflects on the upcoming Everquest 3.
Rowan looks at the cosmetic changes in WoW.
Ysharros doesn’t seem to be enjoying the Final Fantasy MMO beta so far.
And finally, Tamarind gets stuck in with an article on gender, responsibility, bigotry and blogrolls.

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

The Best Of The Rest: Kindle Edition

This Is Not A MMORPG Post #2

Gordon — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:05:31 +0000

Aside from being the world's greatest detective, Batman was also very adept at balancing himself on overhead telephone cables

It’s not often that I depart from the MMORPG topic of my blog but I’m feeling rather whimsical today and wanted to write a personal related article. Oh how I’m sure a portion of you sit around waiting to hear about the next exciting installment in my private life with bated breath and if you’re one of those folks then in you’re for a real treat over the next few hundred words. And if you’re not, well, why not sit back and relax anyway and try to enjoy my words engulfing you like warm chocolate mousse.

What I’m Buying

A freaking apartment. Yep, I just had my offer on a nice little place accepted last week so I’m currently knee deep in the process of due diligence and purchase. Pretty stressful stuff all-in-all (folk sure won’t overstating when they told me this in the past) but hopefully worth it in the end. If all goes well my wife and I will be home owners come mid October and that’s an incredibly exciting thought.

What I’m Reading

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, The Eisenhorn Omnibus by Dan Abnett and the complete chronicles of Conan by Robert E. Howard all on my brand spanking new Kindle. I’ve only had the thing for three days and I already absolutely adore it (I just need to figure out a reliable way to read it in the bath now).

What I’m Watching

Sons of Anarchy season 2. It’s a decent show and provides plenty of fun and amusement so long as you’re able to suspend believe for a while. Not that it’s particularly far-fetched as TV shows go but it does have enough silly moments in it to really make you wonder how to the heck any of it is feasible. And why does every TV show have to have the “computer hacker guy” who’s able to miraculously extract any data required from any computer system in the world which – fortunately and coincidentally – happens to be the precise information needed to move that episode’s plot along? Always bugs me and just wafts of lazy writing.

What I’m Wearing

A leopard print thong.

What I’m Thinking

I used to be a big fan of the Smallville TV series a few years ago but only watch it sporadically now. However, I saw it last week and had a brilliant idea (if I do say so myself) for it: cast Jon Hamm in an episode as a The Dark Knight Returns style Bruce Wayne who’s sent back from the future to help or aid Clark in some way. It’s utterly perfect really. Jon Hamm would make a great Batman and this way the writers get to avoid the need for silly looking costumes and what not (I would’ve suggested Clint Eastwood if he wasn’t a handful of years too old now and, let’s face it, far too expensive).

I’m a genius aren’t I?

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

This Is Not A MMORPG Post #2

Want To Get Into The Cataclysm Beta? Cancel Your Subscription

Gordon — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:18:43 +0000

Worgens are dogs who can play Druids who can turn into cats. Freaky.

Regular readers will know that my brother, the MMO noob king, cancelled his WoW subscription the other week after 8 months of loyal play, citing his reason for leaving as being , I quote, “other players are immature assholes”. Yep, it appears that my fraternal friend had reached the limits of his patience with some of the less desirable elements of the Warcraft community and decided to pack it all in, giving Blizzard what for and voting with his wallet. Until, that is, a special little email wound its way into his inbox…

That’s right, two weeks before his account was due to expire Blizzard decide to invite my brother to partake in the Cataclysm beta. Lo and behold, a few rabid schoolboy emails to me later and he was logging into the world of Azeroth once again, this time as a Worgen Rogue (even though he swore he’d had enough of WoW for a good long time). Furthermore, seeing as one needs an active account to take part in the beta, he’s now contemplating re-subscribing solely to keep playing it.

Blizzard, you cunning bastards.

Of course this whole thing could just be one big coincidence or it could be a perfect ploy designed to keep unsubscribing players hooked into WoW for longer. I suppose there’s only one way to be sure which is to cancel my account and enter into a game of subscription chicken and see who breaks first. Tempting, very, very tempting.

Yet, I’m probably not going to do it. Not because I couldn’t live without WoW (in fact, I haven’t had much of a chance to play it recently what with my awesome busy social life and all) but actually because I don’t want to spoil the expansion for me. I’m trying to keep the whole thing somewhat sacred and fresh so I can indulge myself fully on release day and not feel like it’s just another day on the farm.

Not to say that I’m not slightly jealous of my bro – I am – and also kinda annoyed that now everytime he phones me I have to stick my fingers in my ears to avoid him blurting out horrendous spoilers all the time (I now know something quite dramatical about the Worgen starting experience which I’m not very happy about). But c’est la vie, I suppose.

If anyone does have the balls to cancel their account and see if they get an elusive beta invite afterwards please let me know and I’ll post the results.

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

Want To Get Into The Cataclysm Beta? Cancel Your Subscription

SOE – The Mad Men Of MMOs

Gordon — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:07:59 +0000

Smed Draper

I’m starting to read some reports of folks trying out Everquest 2 Extended and, pretty much unanimously, everyone is really enjoying it. I’m not surprised at all by this because (as I’ve often said), EQ2 is a rather awesome game and certainly one of the top MMORPGs out there. The curious thing though is that given the reaction to EQ2X, one is led to imagine that a completely new and shiny game has somehow suddenly and miraculously appeared out of thin air. It’s as if the “old” Everquest 2 never existed, funny to me as EQ2X is exactly the same as EQ2 Live except with a few minor tweaks. It’s amazing what a little market and PR can do, isn’t it?

Even though I’m still sulking over SOE’s deceptive and greedy price plans for EQ2X, I am happy to see new life getting breathed into the game. MMOs revolve around their communities and it’s important to the health of the these games that they maintain an active and vibrant one plus it’s also a heck of a lot more fun for a player to roam around busy and populated worlds than empty ghost towns inhabited only by ancient veterans. In fact, the allure of a decently populated server seems to be so strong that some players are happy to pay the $35 fee to move high level characters across from Live to Extended. It irks me quite a lot but kudos to SOE for managing to create a system that is actually charging their playerbase to move away from the dying servers.

As we all know though value is a very subjective thing and we shouldn’t underestimate the role that marketing and advertising plays in it. For instance, people are signing up to the Gold membership plan and buying race packs ($7.50 for 3 races) and still facing a level cap and content restrictions when they could just buy the full game on Amazon, get 30 days free play, and completely unrestricted access to everything on the Live servers for less money. Frankly, this has got to be greatest advertising trick any MMO company has ever pulled. Maybe SOE have got Don Draper working for them?

The strangest thing of all is though is why SOE never did more marketing or PR in the past. It’s baffling because it’s obvious what benefits a little bit of re-branding and repackaging can do for a product and heaven knows it’s old hat for almost every other consumer item imaginable. Maybe the odd TV advert or a little more energy behind the marketing of expansions might have revitalised Everquest 2 years ago and avoided this whole scenario.

Still, I suppose it’s better late than never even though I find the whole moment very bittersweet. I’m glad that one of my favourite MMORPGs is getting the attention and recognition it deserves but I’m also deeply unhappy that in order to partake in it (and it is tempting) I’d have to open my wallet and fork out even more cash than ever before. As a loyal 3+ year veteran who played from day 0 this doesn’t fill me with happy thoughts.

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

SOE – The Mad Men Of MMOs

The Best Of The Rest: Crocodile Dundee Edition

Gordon — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:20:19 +0000

I knew a kid with three fingers once who had tried this trick on a pit bull.

Gee-whiz and gee-willikers, another week has pasted us by, this time with plenty of juicy MMORPG and gaming related tid-bits being thrown around for discussion by the blogosphere like a pack of hungry Dobermans would a piece of raw meat. I’ve had the odd time when my articles have been in that situation and, unless you’re Australian and blessed with the racial ability to tame wild animals a lá Crocodile Dundee, there isn’t much you can do about it. Fortunately this time much of the controversy stemmed from Penny Arcade and not yours truly. Time to kick back and get the popcorn.

Tobold asks if buying used games is as bad as pirating them.
Stabs casts his first impressions of Everquest 2 Extended.
Psychochild takes a good look at cyberpunk geopolitics.
Andrew presents his thoughts on Dead Space.
The Ancient Gaming Noob laments the loss of Massive Blips.
ElderGamer tells us how system designers think.
Windsoar has moved home.
Chris takes a look at buying used games vs pirating them.
Chastity likes being a girl.
Tipa is excited about the new Neverwinter ‘MMO’.
Motstandet asks if anyone actually plays MMORPGs.
And finally, Petter spreads the love.

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

The Best Of The Rest: Crocodile Dundee Edition

Star Trek Online: My Opinion

Gordon — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:30:41 +0000

Star Trek Tip #1: Standing with your hands behind your back makes you look very captainy

I never got the Star Trek universe. The entire thing just seems so illogical, unrealistic and silly to me. Giant space ships manned by altruistic species, filled to the brim with innocent civilians and recklessly flying into danger all in the name of the greater good? It makes no sense. If Star Trek was “real”, the Federation would be run by an army of a thousand obedient Datas, the original having been cloned in a transporter “accident” not long after being discovered, whilst every human spends their entire life within the confines of the holodeck, acting out the dirtiest and most deprived fantasies they could possibly imagine. They wouldn’t need to eat or drink or even leave to use the bathroom because some clever Starfleet scientist would’ve no doubt discovered how to beam food directly into their stomachs and excrement directly out of their bowels. That is the world of Stark Trek. And let me tell you now, the MMORPG is nothing like it.

I think it’s safe to say that I was never going to love Star Trek Online. I’m just not that big of a Trekkie and the notion of the game never really appealed to me. Still, I found that I didn’t dislike it either and I suppose that’s something. Rather I just feel quite ambivalent about the whole thing. It’s neither good nor bad, it is simply the epitome of average gaming. Right from the lackluster intro and predictable setting (everything’s got tits up the Alpha quadrant again? /yawn), through to the bog-standard and uninspired MMO gameplay the entire experience is an understatement of mediocrity.

The performance is pretty shaky, the graphics are not bad, the alien race creator is pretty cool, the away team missions are funnish but rather bland, it’s quite casual friendly, your little crewmen buddies are quite funky (I made my Bolian Engineer really fat), space combat is jarringly annoying and reminds me of when Riker used to the “manual steering column” to fly the Enterprise in Insurrection which then annoys me even more (can you tell I’m not a fan of mixing gameplay genres?). It’s definitely a game offers some nice features on one hand but then gives you a smack in the mouth with poor execution using the other.

For sure Star Trek Online is going to be a game that divides people. Some will undoubtedly love it whilst others totally hate it. I’m probably bobbing around somewhere in middle feeling not much at all. To be fair, I haven’t played it a huge amount (hence why this article is merely my opinion rather than me trying to palm off some sort of unqualified review) and maybe I would enjoy it more once I got deeper into the game. Although, thinking about it, I would counter that statement by arguing that if a game can’t suck me in within the first five or so hours then it probably doesn’t deserve my attention all.

If you’re a big Trekkie, bored, or just like the idea of running around Borg invested planets with some fat Bolian buddies then Star Trek will be right up your alley. Although I might check it out again one day in the future, I can safely say that it’s not the MMO for me as it failed to inspire or captivate my imagination. I’m glad I gave it a shot but now it’s time to invoke the Prime Directive, leave it’s ass be and move on. Oh c’mon, how could I not try to end the article on some awful Star Trek pun?

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

Star Trek Online: My Opinion

Learning To Like Voice Chat

Gordon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:38:22 +0000

There is nothing on this Earth more geeky than a World of Warcraft headset. I must have one.

Not long after I first starting playing Everquest 2 I began afresh on the European PvP server Darathar and met a lovely bunch of blood thirsty bastards. We formed a guild together (all of my buddies from Splitpaw and their’s from whatever game they were last banned from) called The Mutineers and embarked on a hand-holding, tune-whistling, flower skipping journey of scandalous PvP havoc and hell raising. It was also the first time I ever used voice chat.

Initially I was incredibly shy and refused to participate over Ventrillo instead listening only and making up feeble excuses like I couldn’t afford a microphone or was unable to speak because I didn’t have a tongue. I’d spent the last six years chatting via the keyboard, conjuring brilliant (if I do say so myself) roleplaying illusions of my characters like the camp and narcissistic Warrior, the repugnant and narcissistic Cleric and the dumb and narcissistic Berserker, and I’d be damned if all of that was going to be taken away from me. Plus, it turns out a lot of guild mates were Cockneys and I honestly couldn’t understand a fucking word they were saying.

Eventually I relented and bought a microphone and I think for the first three months all I said were the words “pardon?, “sorry?” and “excuse me?”. Communicating using our physical voice sure was a drag. Then something changed. The guild disbanded and I moved over to the US PvP server, joining one of the European guilds that existed there, full of members from a variety of different countries such as France, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Scotland and America. Finally, some people who spoke English properly.

I’m not sure why I came out of my shell at this moment but my guess it that it had something to do with not only becoming gradually accustomed to voice chat but also by finally meeting some very likable and easy going gamers. Soon I no longer became aware of the microphone on the side of my head (except when my girlfriend used to point and laugh at me) and learned to enjoy the benefits that voice chat systems can bring to a MMO. Not only does it make PvP a hell of a lot faster (there’s nothing as annoying as getting cut down half way through trying to type “help me!”) but it also makes the bond of friendship between players more real and intimate. I don’t think I would have felt as close to my EQ2 companions as I do now had I not spoken to them over Ventrillo and actually heard their personalities, inflections and humour come through.

I also became more confident in my own voice. Strangely enough, even though I’ve lived in Scotland for over 20 years, I’ve never developed a Scottish accent and instead have what most people tell me is an “American twang”, despite never having even been to the US (some people even think I’m Canadian). Unlike in real life though where I’m forced to constantly explain my peculiar accent, people in virtual worlds take it in their stride and don’t bat an eyelid or ask me anything about where I’m from. In fact, one of my male Austrian friends even complimented me on what a powerful and beautiful voice I have, which, to be fair, did leave me feeling more uncomfortable than flattered but hey, I’ll take what I can get.

Although I’m very comfortable with voice chat now I still miss the old days of keyboard only communication. There was something quite dramatic about being able to create a completely fabricated and extreme online roleplaying personality that other games had no choice but to engage with (yes, I did get kicked out a few groups in my day) and that’s just not something we see any more. Sure, I suppose one could still roleplay over voice chat like an actor but, maybe it’s just me, that’s make me very uncomfortable. I think shouting down my mic pretending to be a mad Priest would also scare my neighbours somewhat.

So that’s how I learned to like voice chat. How do you feel about it?

-Gordon

If Gordon ever won the lottery he’d hire Brian Blessed to do all of his voice chatting for him.

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

Learning To Like Voice Chat

Cataclysm And Its Virtual Chastity Belt

Gordon — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:00:03 +0000

Expect to see this box on the shelves of game stores as soon as 2011

I’ve been getting frustrated with Cataclysm lately. Not with the actual gameplay (because I’m not in the beta and haven’t even tried the darn thing yet) but because I’m being constantly teased with information about it and having it’s pixelated bosom waved in front of my face at every opportunity. It feels like the game is wearing some sort of virtual chastity belt, inviting us to look but not touch. Highly infuriating.

Yeah, I know, I could’ve applied for the beta and be playing it right now but that’s not what I wanted. I wanted to save the game and keep the experience wholesome until the big day. Call me old fashioned, call me sentimental, call me whatever you want, but don’t deny that there isn’t something exciting about playing a new game for the first time, it’s secrets totally unspoilt and unrevealed. I’ve ruined plenty of MMOs for myself by playing the betas too much and after my experiences with Aion and Champions Online, made the resolution never to play another one again. Nope, I’m going to bide my time, wait, and play these new MMOs on release as the developer intended them, completely unmarred and without preconception or prejudice. The release date is judgement day, not the weeks before.

I’m a (fairly) patient man and normally waiting for a game to come out wouldn’t be a problem. Except that this time the NDA has been dropped incredibly early and over the past few months I’ve read and seen nothing but floods of information about the Cataclysm beta. A new talent gets added; it gets removed. Damage mitigation gets changed; damage mitigation gets changed back again. Hunter pet’s get a 0.25% buff; buff gets increased to 0.28%. I’m already starting to feel burnt out.

Cataclysm’s like the eternal engagement of marriages, never committing to a wedding day yet still wanting the other party to remain interested. Seriously, it’s time to commit already. And the really annoying thing is that even after two months of NDA-free information it looks like we’ve still got at least another two to go. I can appreciate the need for polish but gosh darnit I think I’m going to explode.

I guess the truly sad part about it all is that Blizzard’s strategy is working. The slow drips of information and build up of hype across every WoW news site on the face of the Internet is causing me to produce hormones at the rate of a horny teenager and write articles relating Cataclysm to virtual chastity belts.

Well played, Blizzard. Well played.

-Gordon

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog

Cataclysm And Its Virtual Chastity Belt