We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

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

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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?

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-Gordon

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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).

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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.

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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…

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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?

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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.

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