Death, Demon Hunters, And Invasions!

Demon Hunters and invasions galore! The latest patch for WoW has been quite interesting. It has been nice to log in with some new stuff this week. I always am quick to criticize something I do not like and I like to also give praise to the things I really do appreciate. I have to say the polish is something we have to come to love about Blizzard and there is no lack of it in this update.

Changes

Greetings! I'm trying to at least post once a week, I'm trying to keep things updated, share thoughts and ideas. Tonight I had the joy of fixing several zones of our sprinkler system, learning my lesson and getting a sunburn during the day, ouch! I wanted to sit down and post though, while things are fresh in my head.

WoW
Still going at it. The druid has been my main but I am really wondering why I 'punish' myself with this class anymore. I love to heal, that is the only reason I play it. Doing daily quests is painful, I look over at people less geared than myself mowing through stuff, it really grates on my nerves. I switch to my horribly geared hunter in blues and greens and run circles around my druid. Balance is clunky and slow, and so not fun. I love many things about the class but it isn't up to par with other classes who can dual spec and still perform decently doing things outside raiding. Ok, I can kill faster than a character in EverQuest, maybe... Seriously though, compared to my other characters it feels so out of sorts. Champion/Rares in MoP? Not fun, not worth the effort I have to put in, or I could just log in one of my other characters and faceroll them with my eyes closed.

Which brings me to my other main, the warlock. She is soon to be retired due to changing the class mid expansion. I'd like to know why you'd completely change a class, the rotation, core mechanics/talents MID EXPANSION? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I am so tired of constant tweaks and changes to my classes. In 5.4 all three of my 90's will receive several class changes. Again. Are these developers wanting to push people to quit? If I didn't have characters to fall back on, I'd cancel my sub before patch 5.4 hits. I honestly would. I've been considering it, still a possibility, if the changes to classes keep going at this pace, I think I will burn out.

Did you hear? There is a revolutionary change coming out, called virtual realms! It combines realms, you can play with even more people, and cross server zones (CRZ). Do people even wonder why this is being added? Because players are leaving the game. But we have eight million players, kaozz! Maybe in China. I don't know any exact numbers, but I do know they are trying to keep the game looking alive, keeping more players busy before they run out of things to do (this part is quite good really). They are pushing out patches and butchering classes at an alarming rate. However, changing class mechanics every few months isn't going to keep players around. Why not just focus on content for a while, so I can quit relearning my classes?

Check out the official forums or MMO Champion, you'll see lots of information on exactly what is changing. Even my hunter is missing abilities. Everytime I log in, after a few months off from a class, I wonder what the hell I am doing. Where did this ability go, why isn't this one working, oh yeah, that's what I read about. Luckily, I am one of those players who reads about the changes, but what about those who don't?

For now I am probably going to work on the druid when Dire is around, but solo I will be building up my hunter, working on her factions and gear. At this point is the class that seems to stay remotely the same. Unless they decide to make BM unviable again.

I hate to sound all doom and gloom, I do still enjoy playing. Very much so, I really love all there is for me to do within the game, how accessible things are in today's WoW. It is still a great game -but- too much change in a game where rotations are down to a science and every little thing can make a huge difference in how a class plays, I do start to feel a mental fatigue with the game.

Rift
Free to play, wheee! I managed to pop in and check out the changes. Things look good, I'm subbed until December or January so it wasn't like I couldn't log in before. I had a lot of neat rewards waiting on me and monies to spend from being a subscriber. The cash shop looks decent, prices look good. I've considered playing more. The only thing that gets me is the horrible grind after 50, but at the same time I miss things like having so many souls for my class. It surely wasn't the price that was keeping me from playing, it was the grind! Having the ability to change them up and mix and match if I want, that is tempting though. I also miss housing.

All in all the game looks good still and it seems like the conversion will be a positive thing. Going free to play might bring in some new blood or some who might play a bit more. My thoughts? It is still the same game I left, paid for, speed up XP for 50+ and I might actually stick with it again.

SL
I'm starting with a new 3D program and getting used to it, feeling a bit drained from it, so taking a few days off of designing. A good friend of mine has been working on an awesome script for some of my creations, which will be nice, very excited about that. They will make my items more unique.

I still mainly keep to myself and a few longtime friends, while building and working. It is relaxing, most of the time. Though last week I about ripped out all of my hair working with some scripts for my items. When it gets like that I tend to take some time to recuperate, lol. Below are some of my latest projects. That's it for today, safe adventures!

A ninetails I was working on but I am going to create one with a  more textured feel and animated parts, lots of work ahead of me. 

A beret, color changes. 

Assassin Creed style (mesh) head item and shoulders, female version. 

Male version. 

WoW- Barcodes In Your Screenshots?

*Tinfoil hat is ON! * Stay away from my screenshots!

Can you imagine it? Barcodes in your WoW screenshots, or rather, watermarks that could possibly hold information such as account name, IP address (server?) and other sensitive information. Have you heard about it? It's a topic going around and it is rather disturbing. Sure, I can vaguely try to understand why this was ever implemented, but I still don't think any reasons trump account security compromises to your customers, if it is indeed true. If it is, you know someone is eventually bound to find out, when they do, you never know who can use that information in ways that could have negative affects, I mean didn't blizzard recently have a breach of security? Could things like this be linked? Supposedly these watermarks are only in a certain quality of screenshot, also, only screenshots from after the Blizzard/Activision merge. Makes you think.

It is pretty creepy to even think that a company would even want to 'track' customers through screenshots, or even to really dig up reasons why. A gaming company at that- but they have in the past and still continue to. We all know about Warden, which monitors what we do in the background while running Blizzard games. I always thought this was a huge breach of privacy. There is also the Governor, a third party program, which can monitor what Warden does, but not everything. You can read about them here.

With a huge grip on the gaming industry I suppose a company like Blizzard feel like they have the power to do as they like. I mean they already did with Warden, why not with watermarks? Is it really that far out there? All I can say is 'With great power comes great responsibility.' All in all at the end of the day it creeps me out, especially as a blogger who shares tons of pictures, even if I am not using the resolution required to read all the information it still bothers me to think it could be there. I'll leave you to come to your own conclusion about it all. Feel free to share your thoughts.

You can read first hand just exactly how these watermarks were found, much more information, straight from the horses mouth here, along with a lengthy discussion (image up top found from link). Thought it was worth passing on.

Edit- Massively and WoW Insider have articles on the topic, they claim that these watermarks fine and there is nothing to worry about, but I've not read any conclusive reasons either way. Doesn't mean I have to like information being coded into my screenshots, does it? *takes tinfoil hat off*

Call To Arms- The Band-Aid (WoW)

Tank today and this sweet mount could be yours! Doh.. I already have it.

Tired of sitting in the LFD queue for ages? Well Blizzard has a band-aid for this painful wait time problem. Call To Arms, check out the info at MMO-Champion and also check out Sprinks' post which is where the topic caught my eye. Basically CTA gives rewards as an incentive to get people to queue for dungeons, mainly tanks and healers. I mean when are we ever lacking DPS? I thought it HAD to be a late April Fools joke.


The handy dandy LFD system will keep tabs on the the queue, once it gets past a certain wait time CTA will kick in, determining which role is the least represented, and offer a reward for filling it. The rewards for filling these roles range from money and flasks to vanity pets and mounts. We all know that tanks and then healers will be the ones to benefit the most from this, mainly tanks. OMG where have all the tanks gone?!! I'll get to that in a bit. The DPS in the queue will benefit but not in the same way, the lacking roles will go above and beyond with a bonus. Is this fair? I suppose it all depends on how you look at it.

Is this a solid fix or a band-aid on the problem that Cataclysm has caused? I honestly think Blizzard needs to take a harder look at why certain roles are not queuing for dungeons. While I like to think its kind of neat that I may have a chance to get something cool on my healers, I really don't like the idea as a dps class, then again it might help me actually get a group at 85 as DPS. I think the root issues of this expansion and direction should be rectified instead of shaking goodies in our faces to try to get us to tank or heal. 'Look in the bag... all the shiny goodies! Now go tank! Heal the PUGS for phat lewt!'

But wait!  You can't queue up with a buddy, you have to go at this alone. I think this is rather harsh. Queuing with at least one other person would add a little more incentive, in my eyes. What the rewards are not enough as it is?! I'm just not sure, only time will tell.

I am glad to see that Blizzard is aware of the queue times and at least trying to do something, I gave up with my hunter on trying the LFD thing, last time I played. Is it enough incentive to get people to tank and heal more in LFD instances?

Do we focus on guild runs or just LFD solo? There we run into a conflict of interest for this expansion. It seems such a contradiction to the theme Ghostcrawler was aiming at in the beginning of the expansion- Wow, Dungeons are hard ... Get a guild! Focusing on guild runs and I quote 'Ultimately, we don't want to give undergeared or unorganized groups a near guaranteed chance of success'... And they wonder why nobody is queuing?! The idea was to take the pressure off healers and tanks, leaving little room for DPS to cause error, think before you act as there are consequences (Oh noes...whoopty doo dah! Thus achieving in scaring off all the tanks and healers), but in reality it actually caused more pressure and people don't want to deal with it. And maybe hose tanks and healers may be just too busy doing rep runs with their guilds, you know, since it requires so many guild members to group. Maybe they like it better, since it was pushed so hard on us. Maybe they would rather go after those shiny rewards instead?

I say give us normal instances at 85 and heroics or heroics which are much like LK heroics and add in Heroic x2. Everyone is happy. Casual fun with rewards and hard mode for those who claim they love these hard dungeons. I think the implementation of this CTA system speaks multitudes about state of end game heroics. Alas nobody ever asked me, so onward with the carrot on a stick!

I am really interested to see how this fares with the community, if it will help any. *Sits back and reaches for the popcorn!*

-kaozz

Real ID- Unmasking Us? Part 2

So, it seems that Real ID isn't going to make it to the forums. I'm happy to know this. The game isn't turning into a complete three ring circus. Although the game has evolved so much in the last several years, sometimes I don't recognize it in my nostalgia for that simplicity the game once offered.

I checked out the forums over the last few days and they had exploded with concerns about Real ID. I'm glad Blizzard backed down. You can't expect to clean up your forums by scaring people into not trolling. That is the lazy way out. I think Blizzard would have lost a lot of respect and subscriptions.

This whole fiasco has left me sort of jaded with WoW. Sure, I love the game but it seems everything is on display and it's just mutated into some carnival monster with everything on display. I suppose the game leaves you feeling rather exposed when you realize how every little thing is monitored down to your gear score.

Yay for those of you who spoke your mind and stood your ground on this issue. People were heard and, for now at least, we still have a little bit of privacy left in this 'sham' of a fantasy World...of Warcraft. Me? I have some thinking to do, I just don't know know if it is enough of an escape for me anymore.

Read the official post here.


-kaozz

Real ID- Unmasking Us?

The hot topic of today seems to be Real ID. Some people love it while others hate it. The latest news has been the addition to adding the Real ID to forum posting. Is Blizzard crossing a line here? Why is it such a big deal to share to the world who we are? My fantasy is being taken away, they are unmasking the characters... To an extent. I don't really want to know that 'Gabriel' the Paladin is really 'Dick Smith'. Especially on the forums, I do not want to know these peoples real names.

I have gotten over the Real ID part in game and actually use it with a few people. I wouldn't add just anybody though. It can be handy but I still don't like the fact that it uses real names. I really do not know what Blizzard is doing. Are they trying to scare people off?

People seem to be against using real names in the forums. How many people are going to post up there now? I think we will be seeing people use other forums in the future and not the official forums. It will chase off people. Is this something you want to see? Boy that guy is a dumb ass, he called me a nub, let me google his name... Hey it could happen, what is preventing it?

I think privacy is being invaded, a boundary crossed. I hope to see Blizzard take another look at this and change it to user handles. I think this also needs to be used with caution- never in any game I've played (MMO) have you ever had to share account information with the world to use certain aspects.

I'm not going to drone on and on about it today because everyone and their brother is talking about it. I did want share my thoughts on it though. Is this something that bothers you? Do you think you will use the forums after this? I really would love to know why Blizzard thinks this is a good idea. I'm just boggled.

I do have some interesting questions though... Thinking of posting on the general forums looking for a guild, will you still now? I'll let my husband do that if he wants to badly enough. I doubt he does. How about your child posting a question on the forums with your name on the account. What if you didn't know about the changes because you don't play? Not your name on the account, but your child's? Do you really want their name on the net?

It's not going to cause me to quit personally. In the end it probably won't bother me that much. I don't like the idea of so much reality being thrown into my fantasy though. It makes me a sad panda.

For the official information on the forum changes you can read the original post here. Also Massively has a great post covering a lot of bases on this topic such as:

'The game's first casualty has already been made public -- Community Manager Bashlok. Within minutes, posters found his wife's name, his children, where his children go to school, his house, his projected income, his Facebook, etc. The official response to this has been that posting any of this information will result in a ban. Yes, that's right, a whole ban. The fact that people can easily track you down isn't a huge worry because posting said information will result in a ban from an internet forum.' Interesting! Read more here.

The Direction of MMOs and Foundations

Success
In my opinion as a gamer there have only been two majorly successful games in the last decade. World of Warcraft and Everquest. Everyone has either played these or knows these games and the success of them. They are getting to be rather older games. The difference is: Blizzard still has a major focus on it's bread and butter, while S.O.E. still tries to put out shiny new games. Yes, I know Blizzard has another in the works, for now it's not here-- it doesn't count.

Over the last two years there have been several new MMOs released, none have been fantastic enough to push past the success of WoW. Either they release with an unfinished feeling or try for a direction that people find boring. In the end a lot of them try to keep up with World Of Warcraft or compare to it in some way.

Changes or Lack of..
Some games are trying to change direction, like EQ2. S.O.E. is adding battlegrounds into the game, with rewards. This is something I was kind of boggled on. Will this impact the game play much? When you have a game that has two different play styles it can have a huge impact with balance on both sides. This has been a heavily focused PvE game for so long, I suppose it is in hopes of drawing in more players.

With WoW I find a lot of people bored- I find myself bored as well . Blizzard's less is more view on expansions- or should I say polish, polish, polish-- it will be ready when it is ready! People tend to grow bored quickly. While I was always very happy with the speed S.O.E put out expansions for Everquest. However, I don't like that Everquest is left to advertise itself: "Do people still play that game?"

Stagnation
Speaking of stagnating- lets talk Aion. NCSoft seems to lets players feel ignored, has security breaches with account security and lack of communication with the community. You can't hope your game is so shiny and new it will blind people to these issues. Why bother with a new game if you're going to let the game stagger?

Those are two big things I find to be problematic about the MMO world. 1- Every game trying to conform or compete with WoW. 2- Letting players grow bored and content stagnating. There are so many games out now and many companies try to make something new, shiny and bigger. How about focus on what you do have, the players who you do have are obviously interested. Why not work with what is there, what they know people like? Hey, Blizzard is doing it!

A Bird in the Hand...
A third would be: Too many pots on the stove! We all know what follows, when the new game comes out the older ones get less attention. What you end up with in the end is a bunch of low populated games that don't get the attention they need to keep people interested. DAoC anyone? Mythic ended up with two (WaR and DAoC) games grasping for customers. One wasn't a huge success as it was thought to be and the other was basically left to function with no new content.

S.O.E. has a bunch of great games but they move focus to the newer ones leaving the other game's players feeling the game is ignored in many ways. I'm not saying we don't want new games, I am saying we don't like what is good getting neglected. We, as players, still like these old games- we have invested in them, time and money. Memories- Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

Maybe I am sounding like a ranting 'old time gamer'. Maybe I am! Though,  I do know that the direction of MMOs over the last few years have been in a spiral downward. I am simply not impressed thus far.

I suppose the moral of the story is.. 'Don't know what you've got till it's gone'.. By saying this, I mean player bases. Something will blow away the old games one of these days. It may not be for years to come. Still, why not build on the foundations you have? All that glitters isn't gold..


-kaozz

Squeaky Wheels...

In the MMO world we sometimes forget that our hobby is one tied to real money. May it be from buying the product, paying subscriptions or paying for services. It is a business and we are consumers.


The Squeaky Wheel.. Gets the Oil.
If there is one thing I like about S.O.E. it's the customer service, however I tend to like their games just as much. I have in the past had a few bad experiences, but when compared to most other companies, I would have to say that out of my many dealings overall-  it's probably the best out there.

I did have my characters deleted once, the CS rep I spoke to basically couldn't be bothered to restore(years and years ago). And I was billed for a month I didn't log in accidentally, it was my fault and the CS rep pretty much told me too bad. Those were both incidents I quit over.Were they the companies fault? No, but I felt as a paying customer I was blown off when I asked for help.

Those are just two examples. I couldn't tell you how many times they have helped me out with things that most companies would just flat out say no to. They -overall- have been great when it comes to customer service.

But over the years I have learned- I am not one to take no for an answer if I don't have to. Many games are quick to blow me off over my measly petitions. Games are products, I am a consumer. If I am not happy, I will go to another product, plain and simple.

Today I was once again pleased with the support team helping me with one of my 'issues'. It wasn't anything game breaking, but it was a big deal to me. It's the little things that make players happy. So why not bend a little to keep the player happy? So today I am a happy player because I feel as if the company I am with cares.


Squeaky Wheel gets Annoyed..
Blizzard has helped me with issues in the past that really made me keep playing also. However they don't always bend as much as I would like them to. I have had a lot of bad customer service, generic responces.

With many incidents I was sent an email stating the problem had to do with my UI.  These had absolutely nothing to do with the user interface- yet each time I asked for help I was sent the same email! I was pretty ticked off.  I deleted my character by accident can it be restored?- Try restoring your original UI settings by following the directions in this email...What?!


I explained that I was tired of getting the same lazy email every time I had a problem. I never got an apology, or even an acknowledgment about it either, which was even more annoying. Yes, in case you were wondering: I am a MMO princess who demands excellent service!


Reality Check!
Some players think the companies owe the players nothing. In reality we are consumers paying for a product, many people forget that money is involved. It is after all a business. Time= money. That is one thing the MMO business has known for years, don't fool yourself. So yes---  time does amount to money, no matter how much you debate it. I am paying for the time I play. Are those employees doing charity work keeping the servers up and assisting customers? They might enjoy the job, it's still a job none the less.


Roll with the Punches.. Or Roll Out?
Take a look at the NCSoft issue recently. This business had security issues with the account website causing security breaches with accounts, which were hacked and stolen. Do you think these consumers were happy? Knowing the company I doubt they are swift to move on this incident. Will these consumers think the company cares about them? I doubt it. They will more than likely move on to greener or rather -safer pastures.

Is it the players fault that the website wasn't secure? That would be crazy to say it was. The players didn't have anything to do with the problem, which was: A bug that logged people into incorrect accounts, allowing them to change passwords and steal accounts.


Moral of the Wheel's story...
While I love playing my games, I love having great customer service even more. The game can be gorgeous with the best graphics, all shiny and new or even claim to have millions playing. In the end if they don't care about the customer, it's probably not the game for me.

-kaozz

WoW, Chillin' with Mr.Chilly!

Mr.Chilly is here! Isn't he adorable! If you haven't merged to a Battle.net account yet you can here. I was very happy to get this little cutie, you get one per character much like the anniversary bear, you can send it to another char to use also.

For those that haven't signed up yet here's the info from the World of Warcraft Community Site

"In preparation for the launch of these new features, on November 11, 2009 , all current World of Warcraft players will be required to merge their World of Warcraft accounts with a Battle.net account in order to log in to the game. As our way to say "thanks" for taking a moment to go through the process, existing World of Warcraft accounts that upgrade to Battle.net (including those that have already switched over) will receive a brand-new penguin in-game pet -- after you've merged, he'll be waiting for you in your in-game mailbox the next time you log in. Starting on November 11, all World of Warcraft players will need to log in to the game using a Battle.net username and password, and anyone who wishes to create a new World of Warcraft account will need to start with a Battle.net account."

I'll be chillin' with Mr.Chilly!
-kaozz

My 2 cp: Limited (MMO) Play.

What do I mean by limited play? Today I am going to go over some things I think have drawn or pushed away players in certain games. Things that have shown tried and true, and things that have shown to make a true flop. Limiting the wants of today's gamer.

What do gamers want?
In this day and age if you really want to make a hit you have to consider there are many different types of players. People like to raid, group, solo and PvP. If you leave out one of these you just may limit your player base. Show me one game that is a major hit that specifically aims to PvP. One game out over a year in NA. I'm sorry but there isn't one.

As an example, games that focus heavily on PvP really have not done so well. While many players love to PvP, it seems the game really suffers when just targeting this audience. People want to sometimes unwind and relax not always be on the alert IMO. Disagree with me all you like, still doesn't change the fact that there are none.

Games that target a specific audience limit the player base to begin with. People get bored, move on. Who is going to take their place when you already closed the door on the other types of play? Aion? Warhammer?

Travel options, penalties, and fluff.
Many games have learned and taken note that players were running on foot a decade ago in games. However some have not. People don't want to spend massive amounts of time getting to areas to group or quest. In this day and age... really why do so when there is another game out there that won't make you travel slowly?

I have spoke on the penalty topic in previous posts so I won't linger here. People don't want harsh penalties, they don't want to lose items in the process of making an item. This makes people just feel like pulling their hair out. Why not make a chance of not skilling up instead of losing a component? Very harsh.

People want fluff. Not all gamers, but we are talking about a wide variety of people being happy. Companion pets, mounts, nifty things people like having on their character.

Guidelines
While you might have always wanted to be a mage who can melee... Given the chance to build a character from scratch can prove to be messy in all actuality.

People tend to like the good ol' pick a class and define this with different aspects. May it be talents, alternate advancement, people seem to like a specific role. It can get annoying to pick what you think you want to just find out it's not all that great in reality. Champions?

Also people don't want to play a generic class 'set' levels to find out which path they are to take.. Only to find out they made the wrong choice. You have to do it all over again, which can border on quick burnout when done enough times. Aion?

Gamers seem to like the tried and true path of a specific class. This may not be for everyone but it does add more definition to play.

Listening to Customer feedback and content updates.
I don't want a game that changes every little aspect every time someone cries about something. However a company that listens to what players want and takes this into account is making an investment. A company that moves quickly keeps players. Sitting there letting players wait on things to be fixed or additional things needed to keep the game up to date, they will lose players at a steady rate.

Players want to feel that they are paying to play a game where the company cares about the player. Companies that don't deal with gold spammers and botters, what does this tell us as players? We get the message that the company isn't listening. They want to make the rules yet not enforce them. Players also love it when the company keeps in touch with the community.

Games that are slow to add content, the players seem to jump ship every time a new game comes out just for NEWNESS. People want new content on a steady basis. The demand it.

However I notice these that jump ship always seem to go back to the one game that holds the market in a vice grip. Why? This company listens, changes, bends, offers to a huge player base many types of play. WoW, Blizzard? Of course, this company isn't perfect, none are. There are issues I have even with WoW.

There are other companies such as S.O.E. that have proven to listen and change and have had their games life span go further than many would have thought possible.

In the end.
There are many wonderful games out there. However it is really sad to see many fade into the background because they didn't really take most of this into account. Gamers will play the game that offers the most bang for the buck, the company that listens and cares. People don't want limited play and a deaf ear.

I may sound harsh or even on the verge of being a critic of different aspects. However I have played many, many, many games in the last decade. I have seen many fall, many fade away. I have seen so few make a huge impact. I'm still seeing new games come out making the same errors other games a year ago did. Some may hold promise, but for now I'm still not quite convinced. Will it stop me from playing them? Probably not. Will it keep me for years to come? Probably not.

And that's my 2cp this week.
-kaozz

Could WoW character models use an update?

So I was thinking since my last post, when will Blizzard give us some updated character models? After seeing Jaina's upcoming look and of course the lovely revamp of Sylvanas.. I feel like the rest of the characters feel very plain. I suppose after playing Aion that is bound to happen. But honestly not a huge change, just something simple like these two have?


I highly doubt we see it in Cataclysm but I suppose it could be a possibility. As much as they change classes around, I would think they could stand for some changes in other areas.

I really think WoW is a great game, it does aim for a large audience to be able to play it. Maybe it could possibly add in the option to use new models or the old, players choice. They did test a few out in Wrath Beta. Lets see if I can find one of my screen shots I took of a human female......

...... Ah there we go.. here are a few I found where they were working on shading and a few different types of faces, more realistic I suppose. However Jaina's human face looks a lot prettier.

So I suppose they were playing around with the idea at some point. I took the armor off these characters to show the detail added to the skin, ribs showing, more tone to the muscles and also the eyes are quite different.

I've actually been quite happy with how WoW looks for the most part. Though if some of the models are going to be upgraded, really it makes the rest of them look dated and old. I sorta felt like "Wow my character looks bland.", after I first saw the new improved Sylvanas.

Even though the two newer races (Draenei and Blood Elf), look more updated than the older ones, the new models for Sylvanas and Jaina make them look pale in comparison. It sure could not hurt to add some new updated models with the upcoming expansion. By the time it comes out WoW will be over five years old. Although most games have a hard time competing against this game still. The characters just don't seem to look as cool as I use to think they were... five years ago.

I am not talking about AoC type of graphics, nothing realistic at all. I still want my cartoony looking WoW. But as I said these new models they are doing for certain NPC's look great. Just some thoughts of mine. Some people may disagree and love how the game looks. Honestly it looks great still in many aspects. Do you think we could use some updates on the character models? Just something to think about :)
-kaozz

My 2 cp: Raising the bar with MMORPGs? Less is more?

Is it just me or do MMORPGs have less mystique these days? Are they getting easier? More Homogenized? Or are we just a bunch of spoiled little gamers? I played EQ for five years straight happily grinding away, still feeling an awe for the game. It still had mystique that far into it.

I have played WoW for five straight years.. ok I have taken a few breaks.. but never for too long. Here I am at the same mark as I was with EQ when I strayed away.. I still had fun. I honestly don't know why I quit other than wanting to look at a new game called WoW. After five years I think a change was due honestly. But it still had a captive quality about it... where currently while I think very highly of WoW, it no longer captivates me. What would remedy this honestly? Stop throwing us small little bones called content patches and put out expansions sooner. Brash, but the honest truth. This would never have flown in the world of Norrath!

Less is more? Less content but it will be perfected to a polished radiant perfect little expansion when it's damn well ready. L2Hire?
Today's games slowly put out expansions waiting on the next big or little threats to announce or throw us a bone.. err expansion to keep us.

What will be the WoW killer? Same as EQ, stagnation of the game. EQ is far from dead but it no longer sits on the throne. While they throw out tons of expansions, it took them too long to change things to keep players. Instead of doing so, they wanted to make a game that was far more advanced... In the end, the graphics of EQ2 have put off players especially upon release. Rumors of Blizzards new MMO kind of worry me.

Less is more?
My brother is drooling over SWOR and while I am really more into the fantasy genre, I have been giving a closer look. I like what I have read so far especially in IGN's interview in July.

WoW hit the nail on the head with graphics. Yes some could use an update but the style is very easy on many computers. It seems developers of SWOG have picked up on this. I love the graphics from AoC but honestly they are really too intensive. EQ2 is close behind on that one, while lovely.. they turn away possible customers. A new computer is not a luxury everyone can have when each new shiny graphic intense game comes out. While I can run both of these.. not all my friends or family can.

But back to SWOR. Solo play. Ever want to run a dungeon but not enough people on or just want to go solo.. we all do. SWOR has taken note of that. Want to duo it? You will be able to.

Champions online (which is currently sitting on my desk waiting to be installed tomorrow.. or I will never make it to sleep), has taken this and ran with it. I notice a lot of reviews making comments about it being the solo mmo? Honestly what more do you expect from a super hero MMO?? You are super a hero, you can solo anything! That's what I thought.. CoH/V killed that for me lol. But it seems Ctyptic has learned from past mistakes. I will find out tomorrow for sure ;)

I noticed in DDO general chat, people made discordant comments about soloing dungeons. What is wrong with that? I never liked playing the real DnD with people.. I could never hold a straight face and ended up being too silly to be able to play. My husband drug me to a friend's house where they ambushed me into playing....

Anyhow aside from that blast from the past, sometimes solo is fun at times. What can you really solo and have fun with in WoW.. dailys... the first time maybe? I like options for solo, duo, group, and raid. I am spoiled, yes I know this.

No Enthusiasm for the new homogenized games?
AoC and WAR were huge disappointments upon release. MMORPG Hype of new games since has turned skeptical b/c of these two releases. I really feel for these companies, as they wanted so much to be bigger than they turned out to be. While they offered innovative aspects, they had produced games that felt unfinished on the big day.

Champions and Aion hold much skepticism on how they will fare long run. Only time will tell. I hope SWOR has taken a lot of notes on the games since WoW. Which is still holding the market by the.. well anyhow. I know S.O.E. never thought Blizzard would take their place in the industry, but blizzard should remember every dog has it's day. Don't think people will sit and wait like good little children on the next expansion when something finally does compete massively.

The moral of the story?
I think the MMORPG industry has gotten lax, most companies scared to change things up. Those who do get bad reviews.. But what we all want as gamers is to keep the game we play fresh. We want cool new toys, may it be flying ponies, expansion, and so on.. That's really raising the bar IMO for mmorpg's. Keep it fresh, not too realistic, it's a fantasy after all. The players, we all want to solo group and pvp, remember us all.

So that's my 2cp today. I think I have played too many games this year ;) -kaozz