We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

Yesterday Tesh posted a very interesting article entitled “Cutting the Umbilical” with the umbilical referring to, as you’ve no doubt guessed, the Internet. Apart from being fascinating, the article struck a cord with me because I’ll be moving apartment in a few weeks and I’m currently trying to get an Internet connection for my new home sorted out. The prospect of moving in without an Internet connection (or my dreaded unrealistic catastrophic thought of being unable to get it all for some extreme reason) fills me with terror.

As Dblade pointed out in one of Tesh’s comments, MMORPGs are very habitual and for me, that habit has been carved into me for over 10 years. Although I don’t play anywhere nearly as much as I used to (and sometimes not at all), the idea of not being able to play for an extended period of time makes me really quite anxious. I would never say I was addicted to MMORPGs because I can easily not play them but I feel like my reliance on the Internet is more than that and MMOs are just another component of it.

I’m not sure why I feel nervous about living without an Internet connection. I could still tweet on my phone, upload blog posts from my work and even play World of Warcraft at my mum’s. I guess in many ways the Internet has become my safety blanket. I moved out of my family home when I was 19 and lived alone for a total of six years that I think I’m just so used to it as a source of entertainment, information, communication and, of course, habit.

This whole experience has left me frustrated because I hate the idea of being dependant on anything and I’d like to break this habit. I don’t like feeling neurotic and, in many ways, I feel like the Internet controls me. It’s like some sort of poisoned chalice – giving us so much, yet making us so dependant on it.

So could I live without the Internet? Yes, I could. Should I lie without the Internet? Yeah, I probably should. But do I want to live without it? Hell no.

Could you live without the Internet?

I’m pretty big into zombies at the moment. I’ve theorised a MMORPG about them, I’ve read graphic novels about them and now I’m watching films about them… with a Nazi twist.

On Saturday night some friends and I watched Dead Snow, a Norwegian film about a group of medical students who decide to stay in a wooden hut in the middle of the mountains alone (clever) and manage to attract the attention of the evil undead Nazis who prowl the area (even more clever). And yes, the film is exactly as good as it sounds.

Dead Snow is an utterly over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek zombie romp flick filled with plenty of gratuitous violence, blood and gore and a fair mix of horror and comedy. It’s pretty much a mix of Evil Dead, Braindead and Shaun of the Dead. Hmm, I’m detecting a trend for the word “dead” in the title of these movies.

And did I mention it was gory? Yes, well, it is. Very. But it’s so exaggerated that it’s certainly more silly – or rather comedic – than terrifying and the film knows it. It doesn’t take itself very seriously and seems to emulate all of the “classic” zombie films that came before it whilst constantly poking fun at them.

Overall, it was a lot better than I expected it to be. I’m not a big fan of horror movies (I’m far too squeamish) but this one surprised me with it’s mix of comedy and craziness.

Trailer below. Note: although it’s the official trailer, it’s still a tiny bit gory and scary so please don’t watch it if you’re of a sensitive disposition.

My guild in World of Warcraft has decided that they want a website so they can establish an “online presence”. Now, I’m a little skeptical about this because I’ve been in dozens of guilds in my time, led some, co-led some, and built websites for about three of them and it’s been my experience that often these things just end up never getting used. Building and running a decent guild website takes a lot of commitment and, at the end of the day, it’s only as beneficial as the amount it gets used. I can recall several times when I’ve been in guilds that say things like “check the guild site for details about X” and then the event occurs and we discover that no one actually bothered going to the site. It makes me wonder – are guild websites really worth it?

I’m sure there are plenty of well-established, well-organised guilds that revolve around their website and enforce registration and communication but I have no doubt that they are in the minority and that most guild websites just exist like Wild West ghosts town, waiting for someone unlucky soul to accidentally stumble onto it. Personally I think there’s no need for a guild website until you know that you’re running a “serious” guild and not just a fly-by-night casual one (which seems to be the most common type in WoW). Even then, the most useful aspect of a guild site is really a forum to allow people to communicate when not in game.

Setting up a site can also take a lot of time and money. You have to register domains, rent a server, and spend time setting up an open source forum or similar and then applying some sort of skin to brand it. Having done this myself a few times, it’s pretty disheartening to put in all of the effort to discover that no one uses it or checks it regularly.

Maybe I’m becoming too cynical but I feel that guild sites are overrated and only have a time and place if the entire guild is raiding regularly, working as a proper team and willing to communicate outside of the game world. Until that point, I think casual guilds are better either sticking to the in-game tools available (such as WoW’s calendar system) or even just whipping up a Facebook or MySpace page. It’s why I like the idea of EVE Online’s upcoming COSMOS system which gives characters and corporations the ability to make their own mini-sites in-game – I want to spend my time playing the game, not building a website to support it.

So there you have my views. Am I just becoming an old fuddy-duddy or are guild websites more hype than use? Or am I actually overlooking something that is a valuable tool for all types of guilds, not just “serious” ones?

And on a sidenote, can anyone recommend some decent, quick-to-setup guild software, open source forums etc?

I’ve had some fun this evening messing around with the new Monopoly MMO called Monopoly City Streets. It’s very impressive actually. It’s not a traditional MMORPG like World of Warcraft or anything like that, instead it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like – one giant online game of monopoly. But the coolest thing about it? It’s developed on Google Maps meaning you can purchase almost every single street in the world.

It’s completely free to play and runs in your browser and is very easy to setup and get started with. In fact, when I first loaded it up, it asked if I wanted to purchase the street I lived on. I tried but alas it had already been taken. In fact, almost everywhere I tried was already bought which is both equally frustrating and impressive considering the game only went live two days ago. So, I’m stuck with some piddly little street in the middle of nowhere in whilst waiting to find out if anyone accepts the offers I put down on property around Scotland and Japan.

Monopoly City Streets - Edinburgh, Scotland

I don’t quite know how all of the mechanics work yet but it’s similar to the board game of monopoly by which you get a large amount of cash to start with and the ability to build houses and the like on streets you own. You can also try to buy out your neighbours or sabotage them using Chance cards. I’m not sure how you earn money yet (or even if you can) because obviously there’s no little platic hats, shoes or irons jumping hopping around the streets to land on your multi-million dollar 5 star mega hotel.

The entire game runs until January 2010 and it will certainly be interesting to see how the world shapes up there. My only regret is that I didn’t get on sooner and buy up more property. I’ll be kinda narked if everything’s taken and no one sells up. This is my once chance to actually afford to buy the house I live in after all. I may not be able to get a mortgage in real life but I’ll be damned if I miss out on my virtual one too!

With the release of Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited we’re now seeing more and more mainstream MMORPGs accept different types of payment solutions instead of the ol’ bog standard monthly subscription. Developers are now looking for ways to either supplement or completely finance their income by alternative means and we’ve seen quite a variety so far. Some games let you buy additional content, some fluff items and some let you pay for additional services like transfers and name changes. Still, something we haven’t seen yet though is the ability purchase character levels.

I don’t have a lot of free time these days. My work, family and friends keep me pretty busy and I find myself in a “money rich, time poor” situation (even though I’m really not rich at all but you get the idea). The time sink that MMOs often require has been something I’ve been battling against for the last couple of years now. In my younger days I would have had no problem dropping four or five hours a night into a game to grind some levels but now I’ve found that I don’t really have the spare time for that. With the recent desire to start some alts in World of Warcraft, I started to think wouldn’t it just be nice if I could plonk down some cash and buy a few levels so I could get straight into the good stuff?

I don’t think buying levels is that far away in terms of it becoming a reality. Blizzard have already introduced the ability to buy a name change, cosmetic change, faction change and soon a same-side race change. How long before a purchaseable class change service? And why not a level purchase service? Assuming that not everyone plays their alts straight through to level 80, it might actually be in their financial interest to allow people to pay $40 or so and start new characters at level 40.

Buying levels may also be better value for money for the player. If someone earned, say, $20 an hour at work then it’s actually better value for them to spend $40 and start an alt at level 40 or 50 than play the 40 hours or so it takes to get there.

It’s a controversal suggestion, no doubt. Maybe it would kill off low level gameplay, maybe it would cause a ton of high level noobs or maybe it would simply make gaming favor the wealthy more than the poor. But is it any less controversal than the ability to buy a faction change or even start a Deathknight at level 55?

So, tell me folks – would you buy levels in a MMORPG?

When I first started playing MMORPGs (all of those moons ago) I took it for granted that male avatars were played by men and female avatars were played by women. Suffice to say, I quite quickly learned that this wasn’t the case at all. In fact, back then, almost every female avatar was a male player. It’s not something I’ve thought too much about before (I was in prime gaming mode when the whole Lara Croft “OMG play as a girl!” craze was going on remember) yet it’s never something that’s appealed to me in any way. All of my avatars have been blokes and that’s the way it’s going to stay.

I guess I never understood the appeal, as a man, of playing a female character. Not that I perceive female characters to be weak or anything, I just feel that my avatar presents myself to other players and the community in the way that I desire and I want that to be male. Maybe it’s a bonding thing but I don’t feel like I can relate with a female character. I’ve tried but it’s never been my cup of tea and, even in games like Diablo 1 and 2, I never played the female characters.

Perhaps it’s a psychological issue of mine. I went to all boys private school after all (feel free to email me your sympathies) and I’m aware I’ve got a bit of a Nietzsche complex. I usually want my characters to be the biggest, baddest, strongest lug that’s available so I want walk right up to stuff and smack it in the face. I put the T in subtle.

So I’m really interesting in hearing people’s feedback on this. Do you think it’s strange for a man or a woman to play a character of the opposite sex? Are you worried about being perceived as someone of the opposite gender? Do you even care and is it just part and parcel of gaming now?

Oh and yeah, I’m perfectly aware that this article will probably convince people that I’m either a mad chauvinist or a raving homosexual

An interesting article over on IGN PC reveals some more information about the upcoming EVE Online expansion, Dominion. Apparently it’s going to overhaul the sovereignty mechanic, re-balance ship power and, oddly enough, introduce a Facebook style social network for player’s characters. That’s like just like totally like crazy, dude.

Who's Got The Biggest Ship?

I haven’t engage in any territorial warfare (yet) but CCP have said that they want to simplify the way space is claimed. I have no idea how it’s currently done or how it will change so it’s all totally over my head. Something that’s sure to cause a stir though is the decision to nerf Titans – apparently their doomsday weapon is going to change from area effect damage to single target. Now I’ve never even seen a Titan before (I’m putting it up there in my “things to do before I die” category) but it sounds like a pretty large change to me. Other ships are also going to get rebalanced to keep up CCP’s motto of no one ship being being the best. They are also introducing a new bomber type fighter, a fighter especially designed to take out capital ships.

Dominion will also see the introduction of a new feature called COSMOS, CPP’s equivilent to Facebook for your EVE characters and corporations. Sounds bizarre I know, but the more I think about it, the more I can understand the motivations behind it. COSMOS offers essentially what you’d expect from any usual social networking site – a mini blog, status updates, friends list, email, pictures etc – and is likely designed with the idea to make it easier to facilitate communication between characters and corporations. I guess organising a war just got a whole lot easier.

Some other news which also sounds exciting is the decision that CCP eventually want to offer more and more interaction between online services outside of the game and your character inside. Expect the API functionality to eventually be scaled to allow you to actively train skills and buy items from the marketplace meaning you don’t need to log into the game to do it. I’m looking forward to that iPhone app for sure.

Overall some pretty sweet offerings even if they likely won’t effect me directly seeing as I’m still a newbie newb. Still, can’t complain at a free expansion. CPP are quickly becoming one of my favourite developers.

Oh and unfortunately we won’t be seeing the ability to get out of our ships and walk around space stations á la Earth & Beyond any time soon. It’s ok, I suspect my pilot has a bad case of muscular degeneration anyway.