BitterCupOJoe

Low Level Changes Coming to WoW

The 2.3.0 patch notes have gone up for the test realm and there’s some doozies in there. Of particular note:

Experience: The amount of experience needed to gain a level has been decreased between levels 20 and 60. In addition, the amount of experience granted by quests has been increased between levels 30 and 60.

All old world dungeons have had their loot revisited. Players will now find that all loot dropped inside instances will be of Superior quality.

Elite mobs outside of pre-Burning Crusade dungeons have been changed to non-elite.

The level ranges of pre-Burning Crusade dungeons have been adjusted to a narrower range.

Dustwallow Marsh

Many new quests have been added to the zone.
The Steamwheedle Cartel have just completed building the new town of Mudsprocket in south west Dustwallow Marsh.

Level 1-60 dungeon quests have had their experience and faction rewards increased.

Many elite creatures and quests in the level 1-60 experience have been changed to accommodate solo play.

It looks like they’re gearing up to make it easier for folks to get to the 60+ content in time for them to grind to level 70 for the beginning of the new expansion, and also answering people’s complaints about alt leveling. So, how long until the first, “I made 60 when it meant something” elitism posts start?

Gods & Heroes “indefinitely delayed”

As noted several places on the web, Gods & Heroes has been indefinitely delayed, i.e. cancelled in favor of the other project that Perpetual is working on, Star Trek Online. According to F13.net, some of the folks on G&H have been shuffled over to STO, while others have been let go.

In Defense of the Tankmage

“Tankmages ruin games.” “If people can make a tankmage, that’s all they’ll make.” “Tankmages are too difficult to balance.” Why are developers so worried about people making characters they actually want to play?

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Rewarding Gameplay Styles Separately

Achievers. Explorers. Socializers. Killers. Everyone gets something different out of the game, and yet we are all rewarded in the same ways. Why?

Continue reading Rewarding Gameplay Styles Separately

Analyzing the MMO: Second in a series of a few

Last time, I talked about what MMOs do well. This time, I’ll talk about what they do poorly.

Continue reading Analyzing the MMO: Second in a series of a few

Analyzing the MMO: First in a series of… some

I plan to write several articles in the coming weeks over MMOs as a genre, with an eye towards seeing what can be done in terms of improving the genre. During the analysis, I’ll be comparing MMOs with several other types of games, along with other forms of media and some types of social constructs, such as football leagues and fraternal orders. At some point in here, you’ll also get to hear me blather on about my “ideal” MMO. For the kickoff of Analyzing the MMO, we’re going to take a look at what MMOs do well. Some of this is blindingly obvious stuff for some of the readers here, I’m sure, but it’s important to lay down a baseline, so I beg your indulgence for the first few articles

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Introduction

Hi, I’m Joe, and I’ll be writing way too much about game mechanics, design, and world building.

I first stumbled across KTR about 6 or 8 months ago and have been following it closely and commenting regularly ever since. I’ve been playing MMOs since LegendMUD, Raph Koster’s old DikuMUD. From there, I went into the UO beta, then over to Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, Anarchy Online, and on and on and on, never getting a character past the teens or so. City of Heroes is the first and only game where I’ve ever gotten to the level cap, and only once there, despite having clocked about 35 months subscribed time. I’ve been a supergroup co-leader and the moderator for the city_of_heroes livejournal community. I’ve also played WoW, and, while I liked the first 50 levels or so, once again, I doubt I’ll ever hit the cap in it.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be writing posts about the pros and cons of combat mechanics in several current games, programatically generating compelling content, my “ideal” MMO, and similar topics. I look forward to discussing these things with you all.