A Year in Gaming Part 2
I started 2015 playing RPGs. Despite becoming bored with Dragon Age: Inquisition and its ponderous storyline, I still found this particular genre engaging. January and February are often slows months in my line of work, so it’s a good time of year to immerse oneself in games of this type. I played through both Arcania : Gothic 4 and Rise of the Argonauts and found them both to be enjoyable. Neither of these titles was revolutionary, being mainly “business as usual” RPGs. However both were bought as part of gaming bundles and the discounted price does have an impact upon my gaming expectations. For what they were, I enjoyed them.
A Year in Gaming Part 1
This time last year I wrote a two part post called A Year in MMOs. Twelve months later I find myself writing a similar round-up of my gaming activities. However this time round the title has now become A Year in Gaming. One of the most significant changes for me over the course of 2015 has been my step away with the MMO genre. Where in the past I would seek out new titles and stay abreast of those in development, I now find myself no longer drawn to the genre by default. Traditional titles such as LOTRO have been sidelined. This is because both MMOs and I have changed over recent years. Although I still play this genre (mainly STO), I do so sparingly and it is no longer the apple of my eye or the mainstay of my gaming time.
LOTRO – Major Initiatives for 2016
Turbine has published their 2016 road map (or major initiatives as they now call them) for LOTRO and as ever, it is being hotly debated on both the official forums and on sites such as Massively Overpowered. Next year LOTRO will see a level cap increase to 105, the inclusion of a new instance clusters, a twelve player raid and the start of a collection system. The two yearly updates will take players to the Battle of Pelennor Fields and then on to the Black Gates of Mordor. Turbine are also promising to regularly fix bugs and improve what they call “quality of life”. Overall I think this is just “business as normal” as far as LOTRO goes and once again I think we have to be realistic about the sort of new content you get in an MMO of this age. If Turbine can deliver all the above then frankly I’ll just roll with it.
Is there Such a Thing as Game of the Year?
December is a time for top ten lists, retrospectives and summaries. You’ll find them on most blogs, fansites, podcasts and You Tube channels. I’m sure I’ll be producing some content of this nature myself over the next fortnight. Christmas puts a lot of demands upon our time so posts of this kind are a necessity more often than not. Naturally one of the most common subjects of debate is the so called “Game of the Year”, which at first glance seems a somewhat innocuous subject. However it’s a far more contentious matter when you stop and consider by what criteria do you judge a game to award it such a title? Plus there’s the perennial issue of gamers not being the most level headed group when it comes to controversies and dissent.
So Long Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 has always been a game that’s easy to return to. In many ways this has been the game’s biggest selling point for me. The lore doesn’t appeal to me that much but the games frictionless approach to combat and character stats have always made it easy to jump back into after being away. So for the last three years I have been a regular visitor to Tyria. However, many of the changes that came with the October expansion, Heart of Thorns, were not to my liking. That’s not to say that they were bad. They seem to have found favour in some quarters. But from my perspective the changes made to Guild Wars 2 have not improved or enhanced it and took the game in a direction contrary to my tastes. As a result I have stopped playing the game entirely.
Returning to Middle-earth Again
Now that Turbine have settled into the pattern of releasing two content updates for LOTRO a year, I have correspondingly settled into the pattern of re-subscribing for a month or two when each one appears. The latest, Update 17 The Siege of Minas Tirith, went live on 27th October but as there was so much other gaming content released at that time, I postponed my customary winter excursion to Middle-earth. I must admit that I had provisionally checked out the new area and the iconic city of Minas Tirith on the Bullroarer test server and I was not especially impressed. However as of last night having found the time in my gaming schedule I decided it was time to re-subscribe to LOTRO and push on with the epic story.
Eon Altar: Early Access
Last week I got to try the RPG Eon Altar which I subsequently discussed with my co-host Brian on the Burton & Scrooge podcast. We were overall very positive about the game which is currently in early access on Steam. However we could not play the game in co-op mode as it is not designed for collaborative internet play. Eon Altar is intended for up to four people to play co-operatively, locally via your wireless network. This is very much a game that caters to social play, via your living room and couch. So I press ganged my son into helping me out and managed to spend three hours today checking out the co-op aspect of the game. Let me say right up front that Eon Altar comes into its own when played with two or more players and that this is the optimal way to play the game.
The Elder Scrolls Online and the $1,000,000 Giveaway
In the past an MMO kept players engaged with their game by the psychology of the subscription model and providing content updates. Loyalty and the overall cost of running multiple games meant that most players dedicated themselves to one game and stuck with it. Free to play eliminated these ties and a lot of MMO players became a lot more itinerant. Developers therefore have had to become a lot more creative in finding ways to keep people logging into their games. Hence we now find many MMOs that feature daily rewards, content that has to be unlocked by claiming it and short term events that offer unique rewards.
Star Trek Online: Q's Winter Wonderland!
Regular readers probably know by now that I'm not a huge fan of festivals in MMOs. Mainly because they never seem to offer rewards that I want. Some folk love to collect cosmetic items and will happily repeat content to obtain them. I prefer a more tangible carrot on the end of the stick but sadly that seldom occurs. However Star Trek Online launched its seasonal festival today, namely Q's Winter Wonderland! This offers players the chance to claim a new Tier 6 ship, a Breen Rezreth Dreadnought Cruiser. This is quite a prize as the latest vessels sell for 3,000 Zen in the in-game store, which equates to about £20/$30.
Blessing of the Valar
Boosts that auto-level a character in an MMO have always divided player opinion. Naturally when Turbine introduced the Gift of the Valar in late 2014, which instantly increases a character to Ievel fifty, there was a lot of debate in the wider community. It should be noted that at the time of release, Turbine stated they reserved the right to alter the level boost beyond fifty at a future date. On a live stream broadcast on 12th June 2014, it was stated that the boost may be raised to possibly seventy five. It would seem that in update 17.1 for LOTRO, Turbine have created a new boost called the Blessing of the Valar which will increase a character to level ninety five.
Classic Game Themes: Hidden & Dangerous 2
Hidden & Dangerous 2 is one of the most enjoyable, yet frustrating games I have encountered. There are some moments of brilliance to be had whilst playing it but sadly bugs and some questionable AI always seems to trip the proceedings up. Released late 2003 when World War II games were still very much in vogue, this third person squad based shooter still has many outstanding features to this day. One of which is the terrific score by Michal Szlavik and Martin Benes, performed by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra from the Czech Republic.
Gaming Merchandise
While watching the official LOTROstream recently, I noted that there was still a lot of LOTRO related merchandise adorning staff desks at Turbine’s offices. I recollect in the past that mouse mats, mugs and other items use to be available for sale in the Warner Bros. store. There was an initial marketing campaign associated with the launch of the game in 2007 and another in 2010 when the game converted to F2P, both of which required a stock of merchandise for promotional reasons. Sadly a search of the Warner Bros. store has shown that no such material is available any longer. Furthermore considering where LOTRO is in its lifespan, there is not likely to be any further stock produced.
Building a Tactical DPS Guardian Cruiser – Advice Required
I recently acquired a Mirror Universe Guardian Cruiser for the princely sum of £4, thanks to the recent Pop Culture Hero Coalition charity auction. It would appear that this is a well-regarded vessel within Star Trek Online and worth experimenting with as my primary ship. So I have spent some time (and energy credits) of late, trying to put together an adequate Tactical DPS build. However I am not particularly knowledgeable in this aspect of STO and have so far not exceeded 9K DPS. Although I’m not seeking to join the ranks of the elite, I would at least like to achieve about 10K DPS plus. However researching a suitable loadout is proving somewhat frustrating. Most Reddit threads on the matter are pitched at too high a level for me and often use jargon I’m not familiar with.
Star Wars Battlefront
A reoccurring theme in both my writing and podcasting at present is how age changes one’s personal perspective. This is something that particularly manifests itself with regard to gaming. A decade ago I would have been extremely enthusiastic about a title such as Star Wars Battlefront. I would have pre-ordered the most lavish version available, then waxed lyrical about the beta test and thrown myself wholeheartedly in to the game upon its release. Despite the fact that I’m notoriously poor at the FPS genre, I would have sunk hours in to such a game and done my up most to convince myself and others that I’d had a good time.
How to Explain Your Passion for Gaming to a Non-Gamer
Gaming is a pastime that is still viewed with scepticism by many people and gamers per se still endure a lot of bad press from those who like to perpetuate lazy stereotypes. If you are a well-adjusted gamer who enjoys gainful employment and a healthy social life, you may find yourself at some point having to explain your passion. Furthermore it could be to people who find your hobby utterly alien. Like most things in life there is no easy solution and there are numerous approaches to tackling such a line of enquiry.
Star Trek Online - Hearts and Minds
Star Trek is no stranger to the supernatural. The original series featured two episodes written by the reknown horror author Robert Bloch, namely "Catspaw" and "Wolf in the fold". Both of which nicely contrasted the shows central science based theme with elements of the paranormal. So I was pleased to see today that Cryptic were making the episode "Hearts and Minds" available in Star Trek Online, for a short 36 hour window to celebrate Friday the 13th. It’s a suitably atmospheric and cautionary tale which compliments the traditional story lines we see in STO. The story takes place in the Donatu sector of the Eta Eridani sector block, at a lunar research station in the Donatu system. Franklin Drake bestows the mission, thus suggesting that all is not as it seems.
The Evolving Definition of MMORPG
A post over at Massively Overpowered postulated the question is an MMORPG still an MMORPG without gear progression? As you can imagine a broad debate ensued and at present there are over two hundred comments on the matter. I’m not going to debate the specifics of this particular question but would rather consider the following notion. That the term MMORPG is not immutable and has indeed evolved beyond its traditional definition. Furthermore unless some gamers embrace the concept of adaptive gaming semantics then they will continue to find themselves at odds with the prevailing ideas that are currently driving game developers.
Classic Game Themes: Arcania - Gothic 4
Dynamedion are an award winning company and team of composers based in Germany. They specialize in soundtracks and game compositions, usually in the orchestral form. Over the years they have produced both musical scores and ambient sound designs for such titles as Ryse: Son of Rome, The Elder Scrolls Online and the Gothic series. Tilman Sillescu is both the co-founder of Dynamedion, as well as a prodigious composer in his own right. He previously taught at Mainz University. As Lead Composer and Creative Director at Dynamedion GbR, he has scored many exciting video game projects as well as writing and producing music for movie trailers, television and libraries.
Gamer Spends $30,000 on Star Citizen
Over at PCGamer there’s an interview with a Star Citizen fan by the name of Chris (AKA Ozy311) who has to date spent $30,000 on the game. He owns all items that are currently available via the game store. Furthermore he has implied that he will continue to spend money on Star Citizen as more content become available. It would appear that Chris is an ardent gamer and has no concerns spending such sums of money on virtual products in a game that is still under development. Judging from the interview it seems that he has a well-paid job and is therefore simply exercising his right to spend his money how he sees fit.
Activision Blizzard Buys King Digital Entertainment
I found out about Activision Blizzard’s acquisition of King Digital Entertainment via the BBC Business website. From my perspective the notion of a leading US games developer that has a foothold in all major markets, buying in to the mobile sector hardly comes as a surprise. The price is perhaps the main talking point and does raise the question of the potential over valuing tech based companies. $5.9 Billion is after all a tidy sum of money. However what this deal does prove is the financial importance of the mobile gaming market.