Editorials

The second instalment of my 'Age of Conan' beta journal entries, where I eagerly share my experiences wandering through the streets of Old Tarantia and lock horns with another eager PvPer:

"It wasn't long after I stepped off the jetty in the region of Bushbur in the Khopshef Province, that I noticed, what I assumed was a level 20, soldier-class character only a matter of yards in front of me... We stopped and stared at each other for a while, but it wasn't long into admiring the artwork in the armour pieces he was wearing that he actually drew his sword (which also looked spectacular) and shield and decided to rush at me. It was here where the PvPer within me uttered a loud primordial 'Yawp' and grinning, I said to myself, 'It's on like Donkey Kong!' Okay, so this is open PvP; so be it!"

Don't just sit there drooling over your keyboard; read the whole thing!

Sean Bulger's periodic community column today looks at the concept of Open PvP (player vs. player) and what it does to games and their communities.

A while back we talked about conflict between players and what sort of a role that it can play in a game and for communities. During this, it was noted that player competition can be implemented in numerous different ways. This week, I would like to revisit this discussion and talk about one of those particular methods: the open PvP world.

Open PvP is one of the more controversial topics in MMO circles and plenty of people have fairly strong opinions one way or the other on the subject. That said, I would like to explore both the positive impacts and negative ones on the player community. Open PvP has the potential to help bond a community fairly tightly, but it also has the potential to truly tear it apart as well.

Read more after the leap.

Last week, Jonathan Steinhauer's column looked at the design of outdoor areas in The Dangerous Wilderness, Part 1. In Part 2, he continues his thoughts on the basic challenge most every MMO faces.

The easiest solution, though it avoids the root of the problem, is to disperse the ground spawns to a more realistic population level. There are areas where one would expect to encounter monsters, and that is where the heavy concentrations should be. Hard core hunting should occur in the fortresses and camps of the various villains, monsters, and animals that are the bane of the adventurer, not every time you step off the path. This opens up the wilderness for travel and casual hunting while giving players the kind of combat that exist in epic stories: battle in the lairs.

Read more after the leap.

Jim Moreno looks at the biggest question for the modern MMO roleplayer: how do you keep in character in an instance? They're here to stay, so it's time to learn how to deal with them.

Hear me now and believe me later, there is no reason why roleplayers cannot and should not engage in the same high quality RP within an instance as without. Personally, I'm not at all knowledgeable as to where the notion started from, but I absolutely aim to crush it here and henceforth. More than that, I want to share with fellow roleplayers why I think instances are the best places for RP, and provide some tips on how to take on these adventures with RP in mind. I hope they help!

Read more after the leap.

In a new editorial, columnist Jonathan Steinhauer embarks into "The Dangerous Wilderness". He looks at the concept of pf the wild and how it's presented in MMOs.

As I've wandered through the wilds of various games, I've been stunned by the panoramic vistas that have opened out before me. Trees sway in the light breeze, their leaves rustling softly through my speakers. A stream trickles by, the sunlight gleaming of the whorls and eddies of the current while in the distance, purple mountains capped with white glaciers scrape the billowing clouds. The imagery is so detailed, I could almost believe it is real.

Read more after the leap.

There's a difference between making big promises and being able to actually deliver on them:

"'Darkfall' makes quite a lot of promises itself, and yes, even I'll admit that it all sounds good, but where is it all working in front of us?"

This fortnight, we take a reality-check: 'Darkfall', where's the beef?

Jim Moreno's RoleCraft is back. This bi-weekly column moves to Tuesdays and this week he calls it "Role-ing Solo" as he looks at roleplaying all by yourself, which sounds a lot worse than it is.

I was telling my RP friend Wendy a couple days ago about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and how I easily roleplay my characters therein. Oblivion is the best and most current game I can use as an example, even though the game was released in 2006. Oblivion is a huge game, with an incredibly large and open world, and is a great game for RP. Simply remove the massively-multiplayer and online aspects from an MMORPG, and you could have Oblivion. The game, that is. Aside from speech, if you ever want to give yourself a test to find out how much of a roleplayer you (think) you are, make Oblivion your testing ground. I think you'll be surprised at what you find out about yourself and your RP style.

Read more after the jump.

In the second half of his two part article called "To Be A Hero" (Part One is here), Jonathan Steinhauer gives us more of his personal take on how MMORPGs and how players want to be the center of that universe.

Every other Monday, Steinhauer brings us his design related MMO thoughts in this column.

Achievement can be broken into two basic categories: fame and influence. As I considered the former, my time playing AC jumped quickly to mind. In the early days of AC, they introduced top ten lists. These were published about once a month and showed who had the highest rating in a particular stat by server. This had the benefit of instant recognition for those who were the most skilled in the world. Of course, the downside is that the achievement didn't necessarily speak to actual player ability. Gaining skill proficiency, like gaining levels, doesn't prove noteworthy competency. The advantage often goes to those who started playing the game sooner or those who've had more time to spend in game rather than those who truly are expert in a particular field.

Read more after the leap.

Sean Bulger is back with a new column in his bi-weekly look at issues of community and MMOs. This column focuses on player made content: what's good, what's bad.

As strange as it may seem to some, there are plenty of people out there who enjoy creating things by using parts of the game they play, or by creating something for the game. Even more people like to enjoy those creations - more so the videos in this day of age. This is also something that developers could take advantage of when trying to build a strong community.

Read more after the leap.

I've been given very special permission by Funcom this week to give everyone a special look inside Hyboria, in an exclusive found only here, on the WarCry network:

"As a player in this tapestry of drama and adventure, it felt truly as though I was single-handedly weaving the threads of this epic tale, unravelling it bit by bit."

Yep, it's a beta journal, and expect another one of these to come before release!