Category: Editorials

Top 5: MMOs That We Can't Have


hellgate3

Being a somewhat impatient person is rather incompatible with writing about the MMO genre, an industry where waiting is merely half the battle. Between games announced half a decade before their intended release and those launched in Korea, China, or Japan only to take a further few years to make it over to the west, it’s enough to pull your hair out over. It is especially aggravating when you figure games like Phantasy Star Online 2, who we recently found out may never release in the west at all. Then you have games like Hellgate: London, Lineage, and Dungeon Fighter Online who, despite shutting down in west, continued operation overseas.

So with that in mind, let’s look at the top five MMOs we can’t have, and by we I mean people in the Americas and Europe.

5. ArcheAge

archeage

Despite what some of my readers may believe, I don’t talk about ArcheAge’s content updates to tease you, but I agree with the frustration that I see in many of these articles. ArcheAge, unlike its brothers and sisters, gets so much coverage from western outfits that you’d think the game had already been launched here. Every mention of patch notes and content updates is another reminder of the game’s continued delay and unclear future for westward expansion.

The “why we don’t have ArcheAge” coverage also instills a constant chilling reminder as to the recent business issues surrounding the game’s would-be western publisher, Trion Worlds, between several rounds of layoffs, server mergers, the poor reception of Defiance, allegations of neglecting overseas publishers leading to Rift being shut down in several foreign territories, and the continued difficulties surrounding End of Nations. ArcheAge will eventually release in the west…hopefully. Maybe.

4. Phantasy Star Online 2

pso2_title

I decided to stick Phantasy Star Online 2 as number four on this list because it is technically playable. While Phantasy Star Online 2 is likely to not hit western markets, due to an alleged lack of faith in the game’s ability to be profitable, many gamers have already signed on to the Japanese servers using an English patch. This process should be made easier when the game releases a localized version for English speaking Asian regions.

3. Blade & Soul

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NCSoft has refused to censor Blade & Soul for the west, but if an uncensored MMO falls in the woods and no one is able to play it, does it make a sound? Blade & Soul has the backing of NCSoft, but the game has quickly dropped down in sales to the levels of Lineage II and “other” and is likely to continue dropping. If the game continues to do poorly, it is possible that the game could be shut down before it ever has the chance to be localized.

But NCSoft isn’t the kind of company that cuts an MMO loose just because it hit some hard times, right?

2. Lineage

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Lineage is particularly painful not just because the game continues to operate in its native Korea after being shut down in the west, but it is outperforming every single one of NCSoft’s other games. Lineage has been NCSoft’s #1 top selling game for the past year and has grown exponentially over the past several quarters. Despite its healthy population in Korea, however, the game was not performing well in America and Europe to continue supporting the localized version.

The good news at least is that while Lineage I is over aside from private servers, Lineage Eternal will probably release before the world ends.

1. Black Gold Online

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Black Gold Online is likely to release before any of the other games on this list, but it is the most interesting concept so I decided to put it at number one. If you don’t know, Black Gold Online is by the creatively brilliant minds at Snail Games who brought us Age of Wushu, and carries one of the more interesting monetization models of recent titles. It is difficult to understand, and I am not entirely sure that I have explained it properly, but the game has no cash shop or subscription, but instead monetizes drops in some fashion.

So far all we have seen is this concept in theory, and it could go either way in terms of its reception. Assuming we ever get it.

Top 5: MMOs That We Can’t Have


hellgate3

Being a somewhat impatient person is rather incompatible with writing about the MMO genre, an industry where waiting is merely half the battle. Between games announced half a decade before their intended release and those launched in Korea, China, or Japan only to take a further few years to make it over to the west, it’s enough to pull your hair out over. It is especially aggravating when you figure games like Phantasy Star Online 2, who we recently found out may never release in the west at all. Then you have games like Hellgate: London, Lineage, and Dungeon Fighter Online who, despite shutting down in west, continued operation overseas.

So with that in mind, let’s look at the top five MMOs we can’t have, and by we I mean people in the Americas and Europe.

5. ArcheAge

archeage

Despite what some of my readers may believe, I don’t talk about ArcheAge’s content updates to tease you, but I agree with the frustration that I see in many of these articles. ArcheAge, unlike its brothers and sisters, gets so much coverage from western outfits that you’d think the game had already been launched here. Every mention of patch notes and content updates is another reminder of the game’s continued delay and unclear future for westward expansion.

The “why we don’t have ArcheAge” coverage also instills a constant chilling reminder as to the recent business issues surrounding the game’s would-be western publisher, Trion Worlds, between several rounds of layoffs, server mergers, the poor reception of Defiance, allegations of neglecting overseas publishers leading to Rift being shut down in several foreign territories, and the continued difficulties surrounding End of Nations. ArcheAge will eventually release in the west…hopefully. Maybe.

4. Phantasy Star Online 2

pso2_title

I decided to stick Phantasy Star Online 2 as number four on this list because it is technically playable. While Phantasy Star Online 2 is likely to not hit western markets, due to an alleged lack of faith in the game’s ability to be profitable, many gamers have already signed on to the Japanese servers using an English patch. This process should be made easier when the game releases a localized version for English speaking Asian regions.

3. Blade & Soul

cat

NCSoft has refused to censor Blade & Soul for the west, but if an uncensored MMO falls in the woods and no one is able to play it, does it make a sound? Blade & Soul has the backing of NCSoft, but the game has quickly dropped down in sales to the levels of Lineage II and “other” and is likely to continue dropping. If the game continues to do poorly, it is possible that the game could be shut down before it ever has the chance to be localized.

But NCSoft isn’t the kind of company that cuts an MMO loose just because it hit some hard times, right?

2. Lineage

11

Lineage is particularly painful not just because the game continues to operate in its native Korea after being shut down in the west, but it is outperforming every single one of NCSoft’s other games. Lineage has been NCSoft’s #1 top selling game for the past year and has grown exponentially over the past several quarters. Despite its healthy population in Korea, however, the game was not performing well in America and Europe to continue supporting the localized version.

The good news at least is that while Lineage I is over aside from private servers, Lineage Eternal will probably release before the world ends.

1. Black Gold Online

Black-Gold-Online-2-620x350

 

Black Gold Online is likely to release before any of the other games on this list, but it is the most interesting concept so I decided to put it at number one. If you don’t know, Black Gold Online is by the creatively brilliant minds at Snail Games who brought us Age of Wushu, and carries one of the more interesting monetization models of recent titles. It is difficult to understand, and I am not entirely sure that I have explained it properly, but the game has no cash shop or subscription, but instead monetizes drops in some fashion.

So far all we have seen is this concept in theory, and it could go either way in terms of its reception. Assuming we ever get it.

MMOrning Shots: Stargate Worlds


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Today’s MMOrning Shot comes to us straight from the vault under the What Could Have Been category, and is indeed one of the first screenshots of Stargate Worlds ever released to the public. Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment put this out in 2006. For added pleasure, enjoy a snippet from the last press release in 2009 assuring us that the lights are indeed still on.

Our official response is that the lights here are still on and the development team is working hard every day to get this game built. Team members are in the office seven days a week to deliver Stargate Worlds. Brad Wright is the Stargate expert and a creative consultant on Stargate Worlds who advises us on the story; unfortunately we had not recently updated him on our progress or the impact from the current global economic crisis, and he was not fully aware of the continuing progress on our game.

Taco Tuesday: Now The Gloves Come Off


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In this week’s Taco Tuesday, I want to talk about Missing Worlds Media and City of Titans. With the Kickstarter now over and the money getting set to roll in, it must be understood that playtime is (mostly) over. No longer can Missing Worlds Media be treated as the ragtag group of volunteers with a dream for a better tomorrow that may never be realized. They have accepted money and that means, for better or for worse, City of Titans is going to happen. This means setting budgets, deadlines, and someone to enforce both. It means you now have real customers and obligations to meet, and people that you need to answer to.

As far as expectations go, Missing Worlds Media is now on the level of other independent game studios. This means that the excuse of “we’re just a group of volunteers” doesn’t cut it anymore. That works for games like Black Mesa, where the development team was literally an unfunded group of volunteers. City of Titans, on the other hand, has money going into it by people who are going to expect the product that they paid for. The Kickstarter should be the point where the team at Missing Worlds Media recognizes that City of Titans is now a serious project that they have committed to. This isn’t to say that the fun has to go away, but the stakes are higher and the game has officially begun.

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At the risk of being branded a cynic, devil’s advocate, hater, etc, let me just say that I still have high hopes for City of Titans and will continue supporting it here at MMO Fallout, but with the understanding that this is when Missing Worlds Media needs to buckle down and make this game their priority rather than just a project to be worked on by a group of volunteers. This means managing the team, schedule, and the funds that drive it all.

How do you feel about City of Titans? Drop a comment in the box below with your thoughts.

[Community] RuneScape Prestige Mode Rejected


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How violently can a person say no? RuneScape is a grinder’s game, there are over twenty five skills all of which require more than thirteen million experience in order to hit level 99, and one which goes further up to level 120. As far as even MMOs go, RuneScape takes a long time to hit high levels, and involves a lot of very tedious grinding. So I can’t imagine why someone at Jagex thought that prestige would be an appropriate suggestion to spitball to the community. The idea is simple, if you’ve played games like Modern Warfare 2. You prestige by resetting your level to one and starting all over again, but you do so with a cosmetic effect. For RuneScape, each prestige would increase the experience required to hit end-game by 100%, so 26 million experience to reach 99 a second time, etc.

The idea was put up to a vote and was summarily rejected, with 61% of 28,594 voting no. Since the requirement for implementation was 75% of the vote, prestige has been canned for now with the possibility of being reworked and sent back up for a vote in the future.

MMOrning Shots: Claymation


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Whenever I look at Jagex’s screenshots and video for RuneScape, it always feels like I’m looking at a clay diorama. Today’s MMOrning Shot is a snapshot from RuneScape’s latest Behind The Scenes video, showing off one of the game’s distractions and diversions, the fishing contest.

 

MMOments: Slow And Steady Rebuilds Lumbridge


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The Battle for Lumbridge was the first world event in RuneScape, taking place from July to the end of September, and pitting Saradomin Vs Zamorak in a massive battle of heavy resource grinding. In addition to helping out their chosen god, players aided the Duke of Lumbridge in deciding how to rebuild the village. The battle is over now and the combatants have left the field, leaving Lumbridge to build itself up from the ground.

Considering that the Lumbridge Rebuildathon is a daily event that you can finish in less than ten minutes, I didn’t think I would find it as engaging as I have. Not for the game itself, which involves picking up inventories of debris and putting them in a stack, but watching the area slowly transform as players complete tasks. Buildings are slowly being rebuilt and the battlefield cleaned of barricades, tents, and buildings. There is a feeling that your work is actually contributing, an improvement over the Battle of Lumbridge’s divine tear gathering.

And there are experience rewards.

MMOrning Shots: No Man Has Gone


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For today’s MMOrning Shot, I figured that I would continue the trend by showcasing some of the earliest screenshots that we have of certain games. In this case, you’re looking at Star Trek Online sometime around early 2009. If you look closely, you can see that the captain is wearing pajama pants.

MMOrning Shots: Welcome to the World of Warcraft


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Today’s MMOrning Shot is so old, it remembers when the Dead Sea was dying. This screenshot of World of Warcraft has been plucked from Blizzard’s press archives dating back to 2001, showcasing the game’s equipment interface and bag.

MMOrning Shots: Wizard ’08


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Today’s MMOrning Shot comes to us from KingsIsle, circa 2008, sent out almost five months before the game launched, alongside the following tagline.

More than three years in secret development, KingsIsle has designed Wizard101 as top quality entertainment in an online environment that is safe for families. It is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2008 and is not yet rated.