Jim Moreno tackles the difficult task of roleplaying a merchant in this edition of RoleCraft: "Even roleplayers are known to struggle with this cookie cutter gameplay, and with keeping their characters from looking and acting just like every other character in game. What to do? One sure way to avoid the pitfalls of routine is to realize that there are many other classes in game besides adventurer. It's time to become a professional roleplayer!"
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.
Funcom released today a new preview of the upcoming patch 17.9 for Anarchy Online, which will include an updated "Steps of Madness" dungeon, new high level raids and many UI and spawn tweaks:
This is a major crisis for the penitentiaries on Rubi-Ka, and they could use all the help they can get in catching these prisoners again. High level players should seek out the prison wardens if they are willing to help track down some of these dangerous foes and maybe earn themselves a bounty or two along the way. Some of the tools they used to escape might have uses in the outside world as well!
Read More for the full patch notes!
Anarchy Online's Game Director, Craig "Silirrion" Morrison, addresses the game's community in his monthly letter, about the latest Update 17.8, PVP prospects and the anticipated graphic engine upgrade later this year:
With the 17.8 update now live and being enjoyed across the dimensions I thought it would be a good time to tell you all a little more about how we are feeling about the recent changes and what we have in the works here for upcoming content.
Firstly I just want to say a few words on the latest game update and take the opportunity to answer a few questions. We are very pleased to see the positive reaction to the new PVP systems we introduced in 17.8. It is always a little bit of an anxious time when you overhaul a major part of the game and we have been delighted to see players enjoying the new dueling system as well as taking part in more group based PVP. It has always been our aim to encourage people to explore group tactics and learnt to work together in mass PVP scenarios and I'm very happy to observe that already people are starting to put together new strategies and tactics for taking each other on...
Read More for the full letter!
While players waited during the downtime, Funcom released the full Patch 17.8 notes, and we got them here for your viewing pleasure. The biggest noted changes include new high level quests, rehauled PvP system with rankings, and much more fixes and additions:
New Content and Major additions
New Dust Brigade Quest Instance
- High level players can continue their investigations into the recent increased Dust Brigade Activity.
- The Dust Brigade Security Codes received from the Dust Brigade quest lines can now be used to enter a new single team instance at the dig site.New PVP System
- Three new ranking systems added for PVP
Solo PVP ranking records progress from kills achieved while engaging in PVP
- There are seperate solo ranks for each profession as follows:...
Read More for the full release!
Funcom announced a scheduled downtime for tomorrow Wednesday, March 12th 2008 while implementing the newest Patch 17.8:
The Anarchy Online servers will be down tomorrow for the 17.8 patch. Expected downtime is 6 hours.
The downtime is scheduled to start at 10:00 GMT / 6:00 EDT and will last 6 hours. To see when that is in your local time, check this link.
Check this link for more information on the upcoming changes and addition!
Nina "Aythem" Sund, Content Designer / Writer for Anarchy Online, penned down her 5th installment of the Developer Journal on TenTonHammer, and she's going back in time recalling her favorite memories from the world of Rubi-Ka:
The question itself is "Can you tell us something about one of your 'best/strongest' memories from AO?" which was just too big of a question for me to answer as part of an earlier journal. As I mentioned, I have a lot of very good memories from AO, and also some bad ones. So, let me roll up the proverbial sleeves and start telling my story.
As many veteran players, (and perhaps certain newer ones as well) can relate to, the surprise the first time I met a Lifebleeder was big, nay...explosive. My first character was clan and I spent a lot of time in The Longest Road, a playfield near a popular hangout town back then. I still remember it...running along a very, very long road and all of a sudden, out of the blue... BAM! I'm dead and I never knew what hit me. I quickly learnt that seeing a Lifebleeder immediately meant we had to turn around and ruuuuun, but they were so fast and you...well...you weren't.
Read the rest at TenTonHammer.com
