Massively Speaking Episode 170

Please do a little more research before speaking again about Turbine's recent security vulnerability. Turbine was informed of the vulnerability by a user.

When Turbine failed to take noticeable action for several days, that user posted about it publicly on a third-party forum, including screenshots of the tool the user employed to explore the database, and excerpts of personal data for three users. Later that evening, Turbine took its official forums down.

This vulnerability is likely to have been exploitable since June, 2011. Data that may have been compromised include players' email addresses, most recently used IP addresses, account user names, and MD5 hashes of the account password.

Amout the First-Person MMo section, I play MMO's in First person if I'm using a Fire-arm (specifically Fallen Earth atm)

Proud to be counted among "The Two Thousand" TTT for life!

Agree with Rubi's Rants (tm) pew pew pew
The difference in the "feel" or "vibe" coming from BioWare and ArenaNet is significant and palpable, however that has only a moderate affect on my personal opinion of their games. One game is re-packaging the same game mechanics and systems that I've grown tired of over the course of a decade of MMO gaming... the other seems to be making a sincere attempt to innovate and move the genre forward in a direction I'm interested in.

Others already called you guys on this, but you really did seem to "gloss over" the Turbine security issues. Turbine did not "discover" this issue, and was most definitely NOT pro-active in how they dealt with it. They tried to ignore it, then tried to cover it up, and then reluctantly confessed to it - partially. Definitely not a "model" approach to the problem of maintaining security of an MMO.

Did they screw the pooch as badly as SOE? No. But that's a pretty low mark to try for so...

I agree with Rubi that certain of the BioWare devs come off as arrogant. But, to be fair, you've taken that quote completely out of context.

"One of the most common things we’re already hearing is that people seem to find it hard to go back to other MMOs once they play The Old Republic; because there’s a real sense of purpose to everything."

This is a statement of fact. They are, in fact, getting that exact feedback from quite a few players. Of course there are also players who hate it, but who in their right mind would focus on that? Would you consider a standard resume to have an arrogant tone?

Here are some more quotes from the same article:

"Well we always, in terms of feedback, take it very seriously. One of our core values, as an organisation, is humility."

"We know people complained a little, but I think if they try it I think they’ll be blown away."

Not to come off like a BioWare apologist, but I really wish you'd at least bother to read an article before ranting on it. All of this "writhing around in ecstasy" talk... it's sensationalist nonsense.

One of The Two Thousands too, and proud to be :-)

I am not happy to say that I agree with Rubi's feelings about Bioware. Not happy not because I agree with Rubi, I like to agree with Rubi, but because I am sincerely fond of Bioware's games (DA 2 is the only exception to this but we'll talk about that later). BG, ME, DA are very great series of games I really enjoyed playing, and Bioware teams are great story tellers.

Anyway, most recently, I also got the feeling that they are losing perspective. They act like they consider themselves some kind of game-maker semi-gods who can make no mistake. DA 2 issues demonstrate they are not, at least not yet (I still cannot understand how they could rush out a game with huge IA bugs, a game whose famous music composer Inon Zur himself acknowledged he was surprised to be asked to finish his work in a rush).

I really hope that Bioware will succeed with SWTOR and the game will be polished and enjoyable but I am not convinced it will be the case. Time will tell.

I am at work, but I'll listen in when I get home, but I have to re-add my comment I just added a few minutes ago from the Garriot house-article:

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You guys commenting with no clue or history!

I believe THIS was the house of his initial Halloween parties (I guess it's the right time of year for this!). He used to hold these awesome parties in Austin (I never had the chance to go to) and I think he moved them either to an adjacent lot or some other place.

Just think REAL-LIFE MMO. Or a typical Haunted House but done with an EXPENSIVE HOLLYWOOD BUDGET!!! We are talking real-life flame equipment, pits, moats you wade through, etc.!

You guys would be so lucky to own this house. Pft! ;P

On to Bioware comments:

(Was trying to type this yesterday but, sheesh...)

I pretty much think it is "right on the money" but I want to speculate/research/think it out more as to why Bioware seems to be taking this sort of attitude and it pretty much boils down to human psychology (or failings).

1) Bioware has a string of successes : Pretty much, all throughout most of its life, Bioware has been very successful. While it has had some failures, most of these are minor and not very consequential. I think such success adds to a bit of a bloated head, especially as years go by and the industry (and fans) keep lumping accolades onto Bioware. A company without any humbling faliures is not humble and is in danger of not being "grounded" or "down-to-earth". While I am all for Devs to chase their singular vision, a wise man does pay attention to criticism and at least listens and processes it, then decides. Humility is one of the things that keeps one in check and really, assures a quality product. While being self-assured and cocky can create good things, IMO, humility and the fear of being ridiculed *Damn-well Double-Dog* assures you double-check things and recheck them again before releasing. This goes for every item, from bugs, to game mechanincs, to box art, to instructions, and more.

2) The Bioware enclave : Being successful feeds off itself. It has propelled them and given the studio confidence to "keep going after the Brass Ring" and even harder to reach rings made out of more valuable substances. This is a good thing, but it can lead to ego. It can lead to huberis. (I sound like *such* a Jedi Knight! ;P ) You need to keep grounded, but this can be hard in a team. You want to promote a general good-feeling in your team (Team-spirit) but it creates and atmosphere of "do no wrong". (Remember Enron? They also felt they had it "made" before their fall.)

I would also think getting the Star Wars IP was a big feather in their cap, further elevating their sense of worth.

3) The fans : I don't mean only Star Wars fans, but general Bioware ones, too. It's hard to question yourself when a group of folks keeps telling you that you are "great and awesome". It's hard to listen to critics, because you can go back to these fans and reassure yourself how great and awesome you are. Of course, this also puts you out-of-touch with potential problems, because such fans will gloss over any small problems that "normal" people would be bothered by. Fans of a show will forgive things that other people will question. Politicians lose their touch with the "common man" and greater problems, because thier inner circle (and their fans) tell them all is great (Lobbyists are also fans of a sort). So, this adds to the "enclave" or "inner circle to insulate yourself with".

4) EA Buyout : I am pretty sure EA's primary interest in Bioware, besides it being always interested, was when Bioware got the Star Wars IP and were making an MMO. I feel the buyout and cash infusion added a huge amount of ego boost to Bioware and it's employees. While I feel Bioware has certainly done better than many other studios given such a cash infusion in the past in that they "haven't lost their heads", I still feel this just makes them feel even better and more confident. I really am seeing a "honeymoon period" between the two companies at this time. If EA wants more online components in Bioware games, Bioware obliges and shrugs it's shoulders, even if such content is superfluous. I don't see Bioware examining EA too closely because they are still at the honeymoon phase. I will say EA has a nasty history with companies that do not stack up to its expectations and this is fact. I think EA's numbers are modest and that is good, so Bioware can do no wrong, however, I do feel EA's expectations are now a bit higher than previously mentioned (thanks to pre-orders and more market analysis). So, we'll have to see where that heads to. I still think EA will be alright with SW:TOR's initial success and maybe ongoing operations. Time will tell.

But other projects in Bioware's future? That's a big question. EA likes to either keep or remove its properties fast and lately, it hasn't cancelled any MMOs like before (nor have nay gone f2p). Since the IP is owned by LucasArts and it is likely to be the only "big" Star Wars MMO out there, even with low numbers, I think the game will continue, but again, I wonder how/if EA will react to Bioware? Cutbacks? Austin closure? Time will tell.

MASSIVELY 2000 HA-OOH! HA-OOH! HA-OOH!

It's been over a week.. Is a new episode coming out soon?