Construed

Am currently looking to add more MMO titles to the bookends, as Tabula Rasa is no more. Released after SWG but shown up for what it is/was, Tabula Rasa always seemed to be gasping for breath – from birth to…RIP.

I am what you could call a lapsed MMO player, sure I still read blog posts & follow conversations over Twitter about what the current trend in MMOs is. I’ll patch LotRO, may flick through my WoW artifacts or wonder what SWG is currently like to play – do we ALL get to be Jedi now?

I now only have WoW & LotRO installed to my PC’s hardrive – anything like Age of Conan, the hog of graphic memory, just doesn’t play well on my current system.

But why do I not play MMOs, like I did a few years back?

I’m not sure I care enough to compete in a MMO landscape & I think I have to agree, somewhat, with Pete:

And that’s damned depressing. I still don’t have friends who’re interested in gaming, really. Not because they’re hunting and fishing now. It’s more because they’re just too damned old to be bothering with games. They’ve got kids to put to bed and American Idol to watch, dammit! And frankly, I don’t *want* to play with other people. I’m old and curmudgeonly and hate like hell to be held to someone else’s schedule or pacing. I’m a crotchety old man, dammit. You kids get offa my yard!

I’m impressed more when a dev team have constructed a single player experience that I get & feels like home than I do when a MMO dev team tinkers with class, zones or just about EVERYTHING else just to appease the consensus.

Most of my gaming Real-life™ friends are console gamers, as I too have become one since March/April last year, but that doesn’t mean I’m only in love with the dog & pony show that is the 360/XBL.

So while I may not be posting anything MMO related in the Game diary, be assured I still give MMOs some thought. If you have an unwanted MMO not currently between the bookends, please feel free to send it over – let’s see how many titles can be added, before the end of 2009.

DM∞

…that being of server stability.

As a generation of online gamers, we should expect this kind of event each time a new MMO appears but this time it’s not a the new WoW that crashes via the first test of it’s servers(due to demand)…

…nope…

A message from the team:

We are currently experiencing technical difficulties with our game servers. The game will be unavailable for users on both Xbox 360 and PS3. We have all hands on deck and the team is working very hard on this issue as we speak. It is our highest priority at this point. We will provide another status update @ 12pm PDT [7pm GMT].

…that’s FIFA 09 Ultimate Team’s first day blues.

Shame really, as it looks like EA are onto a winner here with FIFA 09’s first DLC outing, Ultimate Team. I managed 1 game with Construe FC, drawing 1-1 & gaining 402 coins.

How well did you do on the UT’s first day blues?

DM∞

Maybe love is a slight exaggeration.

Being tagged to join the trail of any meme can be thought of as almost something of a chore – that is if you stick rigidly to the outline that is given by the previously tagged or even originator of the meme.

It’s not the first time that I have crossed paths with a meme, no but what is different this time around(thanks mbp) is that there’s be a few deviations away from what the meme originally began as, with the best spin, that I have read, being melmoth’s, Our memories are the only paradise from which we can never be expelled. This is how the meme originally started out:

So my sister has a blog. No, it is not a gaming blog, it is a blog about her lovely family and a way for her friends to keep up to date.

Anywho, in one of her posts she challenged me:

1. Go into your image folder

Since this is a Warcaft blog I cheated and went into my screenshot folder.

2. Open the sixth sub-folder and choose the sixth image.

I cheated again. a) my screenshot folder does not have any sub-folders b) I lost all my screenshots when I reformated the computer, so I used the screenshot folder on my boyfriend’s computer.

3. Publish the image!

4. Challenge six new bloggers.

5. Link to them.

I’ve decided to move this meme on a little too & select 6 images from 6 different folders – screen-shots from gaming but also images from the everyday. I’ve mixed it but I hope you can see a few threads that connect the images together, albeit fairly loosely.

1

2

3

4

5

6

1: Play.com LIVE March 2008 & my first videogaming event that I attended as ‘Press’. Some good memories from the event include meeting DolphGB of PS3 Attitude in the queue for press passes &  seeing the new Wembley stadium for the first time. This picture of Lego Indy caught my eye considering that many of the stands at the show were pretty poorly displayed – I’ll not mention names here but you know who you were! I hear that Play.com LIVE maybe held in a Manchester venue for this year…

2: Warhammer Online & one of my first Public Quests. I remember this was way out of my league with regards to level but I was tempted to take part by the guild I was in. I remember my PC freaking out with so much going on that all I saw of the PQ was a choppy sea scene of action. Warhammer Online just wasn’t what I needed at the time, as I’m sure Darkfall wouldn’t be for me now. One rule, that I have learnt the hard way from over 10 years of online gaming experience, that I will stick to is not to waste my time beta testing any future MMOs & to leave a new MMO alone for at least a year before trying it. Reading what Stropp has had to say about Darkfall’s recent beginning has only gone to reinforce my rule.

3: Hard Ons/The Stupids March 2009 – I last saw the Hard Ons play in 1989(see picture #6) at the Fulham Greyhound(now closed), 20 years ago. I don’t remember the gig, I don’t really remember their music – although I do remember The Stupids, so why am I going to see them play live next month? Well it’s a chance to see old friends & I suppose to get the feel of live music back in my veins again, as it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a gig. I’m planning to take photos of the gig & make notes for a review of sorts.

4: Prince of Persia. I was disappointed from what I saw of the game, although others did actually enjoy playing it more than I. My hopes of a story & characters that felt authentic to the game’s premise were dashed. Instead the more I played the game, the more I hated how the Prince sounded & acted like a pale imitation of an American hero rather than a Prince from the Arabic. Combat was too QTE heavy with a really repetitive movement structure, Prince of Persia was my game to forget of 2008.

5: Lord of the Rings Online. It’s all about the story! My return to LotRO maybe for a pleasent surprise(see #2: rules regarding playing MMOs) & I liked what I saw – plenty of thought gone into tuning the MMO experience towards the individual from the start. The main quest line via books give plenty of depth in story to this MMO but unlike WoW’s seemingly meaningless & normally lengthy quest descriptions, LotRO has quest descriptions that are streamlined & better written. I also liked the use of cut-scenes to move the story along after completion of the chapters. If I wanted to solo an MMO, well LotRO would definitely be the MMO not to attempt it in – I suppose you could look at it that way: WoW is the MMO that has the ideal setting allowing players to solo the game without big penalties & LotRO just wouldn’t be the same, in any shape or form, if attempted solo. Reminds me I need to warm myself towards a Kinship – am open to offers!

6: DM Osbon circa late 1980’s. Yours truly back in the day when PC’s were unwieldy & videogames consoles were a little crass. I was heavily into the Hardcore punk music scene from that time & this picture was taken at band rehearsal I was at & no I wasn’t in the band. I did my first fanzine writing at this time & this was the paving stone that laid the way towards my love of writing now – blogging & fanzines may not be the playgrounds of the best writing but they surely are where most of the honest thoughts, get written.

Now who to pass this meme onto..?

I tag Aaron, Openedge1, Stropp, DolphGB & Scott.

I’ll be interested to see what you come up with!

DM∞

Most recent arrivals?

I decided to sell my PS3 version of GTA IV & then use the money to pick up the 360 version, allowing me the opportunity to try the Lost & Damned DLC at a future date.

Sega sent me the code for the SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection, that contains the spoilers from the Mega Drive including Sonic, Streets of Rage & Ecco the Dolphin.

I still need to look at Lord of the Rings Conquest & play more Skate 2 for a review, which reminds me to make a mental note - making notes doesn’t mean I’ve written the review, so get your finger out!

Ahem…

I’d like to get back to playing LotRO & WoW too…

DM∞

Read the first part of the interview – here!

This is the second part of the interview conducted with Matt Staroscik – Game Designer and Lead Writer for SOE’s spy-themed massively multiplayer online shooter, The Agency. The third & final part of the interview will cover more details about the general gameplay that you can expect to see in the videogame, which is due to be released on both PC & PS3.

My thanks again go to Aaron, for the help with the questions, & Matt Staroscik for taking the time to fill us in with his thoughts about The Agency & MMO gaming in general.

Part 2: Game world in The Agency

Q1 – Game server – will there be just one game world, like EvE Online or many, like WoW?

Matt Staroscik – There will definitely be more than one server. EvE’s approach is great for their game, but our world has its own specific needs.

Q2 – What balance of PvE & PvP content will be included in the initial release? Will PvP be optional for players & will there be specific PvP areas?

Matt Staroscik – If we’re talking about the quantity of content customized for PvP vs PvE, PvE is definitely the leader. We’re very much a traditional MMO in that way, but we know our shooter-lovin’ audience demands a quality PvP experience too. We’re putting a lot of work into making great PvP maps and game modes to scratch that itch.

The great thing about PvP is that your opponents provide most of the variety. A few good arenas can go a long way towards a satisfying PvP experience, if you have well balanced weapons and skills to back them up. Everyone reading this article can probably name a few FPS PvP maps that they have come to love over the years. Hopefully, The Agency will add a couple to your list. (‘til then, maybe I will see you in dustbowl!)

Even though PvP is a critical feature for us to nail, PvP is never required in The Agency. We’re going to do our best to lure you in though, with good matchmaking and remorseless gameplay. We’ll also be putting bonuses for the PvE game into PvP spaces—like unlocking side quests. I expect that many of our players will split their time pretty evenly between PvP and PvE, and I’m very optimistic that even people who dislike PvP will have some fun in the arenas anyway.

Q3 – How much of the game world will be open to the player to explore on release & how much of this will comprise of instance-based areas?

Matt Staroscik – The split between fully public and instanced space is about 50/50.

Q4 – Prague has been highlighted as one of the cities that players can explore as an open environment – how many other cities will there be like this? Can you name any?

Matt Staroscik – While you can explore a good bit of Prague, I want to make sure that people aren’t expecting a GTA-style open world. The Agency is built on a hub-and-spoke model, where you have a large space that is connected via travel services to smaller spaces. So, you’ll run around in the embassy district looking for trouble, and then grab a limo to take you over to the red-light district, and from there maybe you will get into an instance. One other major locale that’s built in this way is Panama City.

There are many smaller locales, too—a couple of examples are Kiev and Cartagena. We want players to feel like they are traveling all over the world instead of spending all their time in a few cities.

Q5 – Will players be able to use land/sea/air Vehicles eg like ‘mounts’ in other MMOs? If so will there be vehicle combat?

Matt Staroscik – I can’t talk much about our plans for vehicles right now. We have some really lofty aspirations, but we have not locked down what we’ll ship with. It’s better not to tease you…

Q6 – How often will new content be added to the game over time? Will new content always via DLC or are you planning retail expansion packs? Both?

Matt Staroscik – The “Agency Current Episode System” (ACES) will expand on the main storyline that players experience in the PvE game with new, free missions. We intend to deliver new ACES missions every other week.

There will also be expansion packs, of course. Whether they will be downloads or in a box, I don’t know yet. I have a feeling we’ll see some of both.

Q7 – Will there be a monthly access fee?

Man, everyone asks that!

SOE is very interested in different models than the traditional MMO monthly fee for our next generation of games. What does that mean for The Agency? I can’t let that out of the bag just yet.

DM∞