MMO BinA Geek's Look at Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Playing online games is like entering a different world, where people are the same as you, but different. You take on a persona, someone who you’d like to be, and that heightens your interactions with the game. Players create their own history, their own future, and true fans, extend the universe beyond the original creators intent.

Below is a fan made video that proves to me how powerful fans can be in marketing, and building an MMO’s culture.

This film covers a bit from the Caldari-Gallente war. It’s set 200 years ago, before any of the 4 races had pod technology. I tried to use ships that may have been around back then, though sadly there’s not a huge amount of information that I could find.

HD VERSION

Doesn’t that video make you want to play EVE Online?

Excited about this latest game update to EverQuest II? I know I sure am! Below you can find a full list of the latest patch notes. Any in particular that really catch your eye?
 

Hotfix March / 31 / 2009 

FEATURED
Appearance Slots
Players now have access to primary, secondary and ranged appearance slots. 
The wield style (one-handed, two-handed, shield) of the weapons must match the weapons that are currently equipped.

Bristlebane’s Day
(3/31/2009 - 4/8/2009) Jesters, thieves, bards and fans of mischief are invited to enjoy the festivities that surround Bristlebane’s Day! You never know what laughs and pranks are to be found, during this enjoyable time of year. Celebrators are present in every home city, and the oddest of objects have been spotted in Antonica, The Commonlands, Darklight Wood, Timorous Deep and Greater Faydark! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for special events occurring only on the highest of silly days, 4/1/2009!

Lavastorm
Lots of brand new content has been added in this classic zone. Almost all of the population has been re-tiered for solo players, with a new level 45 to 55 adventure quest line with the industrious…but rather insane Sootfoot goblins, and a new level 40-45 tradeskill quest line. Brand new void invaded areas also feature new level 80 solo quests. Additionally, a solo-able daily shard quest has been added as well as mount paths and additional teleporters to make traversing the zone much easier!

Shard Armor
A new set of shard armor is now available from merchants!

Threat Meter
Players can now see how much aggro they have generated towards NPC’s in combat.
A new UI element will display players’ aggro percentage for their current target or implied target.
Players with the most hate will also see the hate value for the player below them.
Players’ aggro value will also appear above an NPC’s head, just below their remaining power.
The aggro value displayed above an NPC’s head may be toggled off under Options -> User Interface -> Name and Chat Bubble

Ward of Elements
A brand new level 80 two-group raid instance has been added! This zone is balanced for players without a proliferation of raid gear, and should provide an exciting challenge to any group of 12! The first six bosses can be tackled in any order, and provide fantastic fabled loot with brand new armor sets upgraded from the tier 2 void shard sets, complete with new appearances! You can find it in Lavastorm beneath the Hollow Tower and Deep Forge.

……

Why is it that in order to feel as though we are not wasting our time (even though in the end that’s probably exactly what we’re doing to some extent at least) we as players require some sort of forward motion, some sort of linear progression that we can physically see. When you get to the point that there is no more progression players tend to wander away and find something else to do with their time. You can see this all of the time in EverQuest II, where players have become bored with their progression and feel as though they have ‘beaten’ the game. When I first started playing, there was no such thing as ‘beating’ an MMO, it was unheard of. They were mass stories that never ended. Now though, it seems they have an ending.

Each ending differs based on what that particular person feels is their ‘final goal’. It could be taking down the most difficult raid encounters and gearing up a character as well as you possibly feel that you can, or it may be something simpler like hitting the level cap. For others it may not even come to that, but is simple a ‘feeling’ you get at some point during the game that you have done all there is for you to do. Because everyone’s play experience is different, the ‘end’ of a game is also different.

In EverQuest, this need for progression can be seen through the years if you take a look at each expansion. Sure there is the very basic upgrade that includes gear and new achievements to be unlocked, an increase in levels to obtain – but even the very basics of the expansions themselves all follow this line of upward movement.

Think back to The Omens of War. There was only one zone that required and sort of progression per say, and that was Asylum of Anguish (which has since been reduced and you now only need a level requirement met to enter). You had to collect seven signets from groupable NPC’s and then complete six raid trials within Muramite Proving Grounds. There were ways to piggy back into the zone, but it was still difficult. Now move forward to Seeds of destruction where there are themes to be completed in a particular order, items unlocked on vendors if you complete these quests, and you gain access to more versions of The Void as you complete the themes. In previous expansions there was also this method of progression that players could follow in order to ‘unlock’ the harder content.

While I personally don’t mind this type of progression, I can certainly see how over time it may become boring to players. The story may be different, but you’re basically doing the same thing over and over. You’re doing tasks and missions in order to unlock future content and gear. You’re gaining alternate forms of currency (chronobines anyone?) and since The Serpent’s Spine released back in September of 2006 even spells are tiered towards progression. While players are quite used to this in EQII as the game released with different tiers of spells to obtain, EQ started implementing it 7 years after the game had been out.

Thinking about it, I don’t know if I’d be comfortable playing a game that didn’t have some sort of progression of some sort. There needs to be a ‘point’ to a game (at least for me). If you’re not bettering your character, what exactly are you doing? Am I alone in this thought process or do others feel that in order for a game to be satisfactory to them, they have to be working towards some sort of laid out progression? Are there gamers out there who toss aside what ‘rules’ the game has come up with as far as progression and wandered down their own personal paths of what progress is to them? Are there games out there that even allow you to do that? Inquiring minds wish to know!

If you are already a fan of EVE Online, then you know that the Fanfest is coming up in Reykjavik, Iceland on October 1-3. This is a month earlier than previous years, and so could be a bit confusing for people.

As a fan of the game, I find it a tempting event, but due to cost, distance, and the type of people it attracts, I doubt I’ll be heading there. I will be looking for someone to report on the event when it gets closer, as I know some people that are attending.

Usually, at Fanfest they have some interesting events, including information on upcoming releases, tournaments, and lots of drinking and partying. Most of the people I’ve talked to skip out on many of the sessions, for an opportunity to hang out with people from their corporation that live all over the world.

If you need any more information on the event, please watch the EVE Online site, as their blogs will be covering it more and more as it draws nearer.

One of the most feared weapons in EvE Online, the Doomsday can wipe full fleets from the map, and this recently happened to my allies in the game as a Titan destroyed around fifty battleships in a single attack.

Here is a video of my “enemies” getting attacked in the same system that we are now defending.

Currently in closed beta, Fallen Earth is a game that provides a level of character customization that I’ve never seen before. If this is what we can expect with regards to customization of our avatars in the future of most games, I have to admit, I am a bit excited, though some people might find this a little over the top.

About Fallen Earth
Fallen Earth is a MMO with first person shooter action and RPG elements. It includes a crafting system that allows users to create around ninety-five percent of all in game items. It features six factions, a classless advancement system

Set near the Grand Canyon in 2156 after a deadly plague wiped out most of humanity, the game features 70 towns, real-time settings and interesting character modifications—woven together in a post-Apocalyptic plot—Fallen Earth provides ultimate player-versus-player and player-versus-environment experiences.

Are you interested in this level of customization? Let me know in the comments below.

In the early days of Star Trek, the ship to ship battles were about large ships, slowly moving, much like battleships in the sea, but as we move forward, it seems agility, speed, and other tactics have become much more prevalent in star ship design. Proof of this can be seen in the Oslo, a new ship that has been released for the upcoming Star Trek Online MMO.

Class Specifications

Overall Length: 371 meters
Overall Draft: 54 meters
Overall Beam: 228 meters
Displacement: 625,000 metric tons

Defensive Systems:

• Advanced Deflector Shield Generators
• Rodinium-Alloy Hull Plating

Offensive Systems

• Six Type XII Phaser Arrays
• Fore and Aft Torpedo Launchers

Velocity

• Cruising: Warp Factor 7
• Maximum: Warp Factor 9.75

The Oslo is a heavy escort class with modules and parts that are interchangeable with its counter-parts: the Akira and the Zephyr.

This ship, and most likely a few others that we will see in the Star Trek Online experience set up the user expectation that replacement parts and upgrades for the ships will be found and salvaged out on the frontier of exploration.

The modular design allows ship’s crews to be able to make more repairs in the field and enables salvaged components to be reused on a variety of ships.

What really interests me about these newer ships is the assault aspect of their design. The Oslo was created with limited defensive capabilities, set up more for hit and run attacks, missions against smaller targets, or in numbers to take down a larger foe.

The Oslo is favored by captains who prefer fast, maneuverable ships that can end a battle quickly. It does not have the armor plating and redundant shielding of starships designed for withstanding sustained attacks, but its state-of-the-art weaponry allows the Oslo to disable its foes with rapid-fire, hard-hitting assaults.

I think this is the perfect type of ship for the masses that are looking forward to taking advantage of Star Trek Online’s ship to ship combat system.

I am really enjoying all of the information being supplied to the fans of Star Trek Online, long before the game is released. It keeps me hooked to their site, continually checking back, but as of now, I think I found the ship I will want to use when the game begins. The Oslo class is my type of ship.