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Free for All: The importance of those first moments in a game

Beau Hindman — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Bugs, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-play, Casual, Free for All, Miscellaneous

This week, I decided to download and install Aion. I haven't played it since beta. Although I was not impressed with it at the time, my favorite Aion columnist has been covering the game in such a way that I knew some good things had happened to the game. And after all, it's free now. Right?

I was nervous from the moment I installed the game. NCsoft hosts a notoriously odd account management system. Sure, once you break the code and understand how to make an account for your master account that signs into your game account (or something like that), it might seem elementary. Until that moment, though, the system makes you feel like an idiot. It makes you feel as though the publisher literally doesn't want you to play the game.

I had a week filled with such moments. The frustration I felt led me to today's topic.

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Free for All: The importance of those first moments in a game originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do MMOs coddle us too much in the early game?

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

As much as I loved playing RIFT this year -- and I truly did -- one of my biggest critiques happened to be something beloved by many. This was the fact that the early game was so skewed toward giving you everything all at once: access to mounts and all of your class souls (and several builds). As nice as it was for the moment, I soon realized that it robbed me of that strong desire I usually have to want to level and reach significant milestones in my journey, as marked by finally getting said mount or finally gaining access to new classes.

The devs said that these changes were a result of player feedback, of which I have no doubt -- if you're going to ask players if they want everything as soon as they start a game, they're going to say "yes" whether it's a good idea or not. In practice, it felt like the game was coddling our new characters so much that we weren't put in much danger or had to struggle hard to gain these shiny toys.

What say you? In your MMO of choice, does the game coddle newbies so much that it picks them up every time they stub their toes, is it a perfect balance of challenge and ease, or is it even too difficult? Is coddling a good thing to retain new players or is it bad for the game over the long haul?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Do MMOs coddle us too much in the early game? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dark Age of Camelot gears up its newbies

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Dark Age of Camelot, Game mechanics, Dev Diaries

As part of Mythic's continued efforts to introduce a "New User Journey" experience that's friendly to Dark Age of Camelot beginners, the studio has turned its attention to the ever-crucial subject of gear. In a new dev diary by DJ Frazier, the dev spells out the problem: "For a new player who wanders into battlegrounds, especially ones like Thidranki or Molvik, they will often find themselves losing almost every fight they encounter, simply because they are playing against people who have had a chance to outfit themselves out in the best equipment they can find for their level range."

Because the team fears that this armor disparity proves to be a dealbreaker for many newbies, the devs are retuning the gear that players get during their leveling up process to be more durable and competitive on the battlefield.

The two main paths of leveling -- PvE questing and RvR battlegrounds -- will both offer solid picks of gear when patch 1.110 hits. Players who risk the battlegrounds will find themselves in possession of top-notch weapons and armor, whereas those who choose to quest will find themselves "90% of the way there" with their gear. Hopefully, these changes will create an environment that's much more welcoming to newcomers to DAoC.

Dark Age of Camelot gears up its newbies originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Veteran EVE Online pilots share wisdom with new players

Jef Reahard — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Sandbox

If you're looking for an excuse to visit the recently revamped EVE Online official forums, you could do a lot worse than a newbie help thread started by CCP Fallout. Whether you're an actual New Eden rookie or a veteran looking to dispense advice (note we didn't say good advice, since it's EVE), it's worth checking out.

The thread is also good for a bit o' the ol' nostalgia, as Fallout specifically mentions silly mistakes she made back in the day, and she invites other players to share similar stories. The thread is fairly modest to this point (i.e., it's definitely not approaching threadnaught territory), but we suspect it will swell a bit as more vets weigh in with stories, pointers, and trolling attempts.

Veteran EVE Online pilots share wisdom with new players originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Corporate benefits and new players

Brendan Drain — Sun, 08 May 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Endgame, Opinion, EVE Evolved

In a recent article, I explored the effect that power players have on EVE Online's subscription retention. In particular, I suggested that CCP has stopped developing features with EVE's power players in mind and that this could be the cause of a worrying downward trend in new player retention. It's the responsibility of corp leaders and organisers to give players a place in EVE, to provide them with something to do and to instill them with the ambition to continue playing in the long term. I believe that CCP has let those organisers and leaders down by failing to provide the updated tools necessary to give players a purposeful place in the universe or give them a good start to the game.

A similar issue I've touched on before is the importance of corporate goals in EVE. I've always been amazed at the willingness of EVE players to donate their time and effort to achieve a collective goal rather than a personal one. People are far more likely to join a corporate mining op, for example, if the proceeds will be donated to the corp funds or the minerals will be used in a corp production scheme. Similarly, I've found players to be much more enthusiastic about a mission night or wormhole op if the intent is to fund the production of a corp capital ship or the purchase of starbase fuel.

With CCP's summer focus aimed at helping new players get into good corporations, this week's opinion-filled EVE Evolved examines some of the developments necessary to make that goal possible.

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EVE Evolved: Corporate benefits and new players originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 May 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: When does friendly turn frustrating?

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

We all know, from years of experience, that there's a certain community duty to help newer players get acclimated to the game. Or younger players, or... really, anyone. It's in the community's best interests to be friendly and open. But there's always the threat of the player who seems friendly and enjoyable... until you log on again and he whispers you almost instantly. And then the next time. And again. He's always there, latched onto you as if you're the only beacon of kindness in the world, and while you want him to keep playing, you want to play City of Heroes, not City of Helping the Socially Maladjusted.

The worst part of these situations, naturally, is that it spoils you on helping former players. It makes the community as a whole more hostile, and even though you still know helping new players is a good thing, it's hard not to be colder. So when have you run into a player whom you wished you hadn't helped out? When has being friendly and open wound up frustrating you to no end?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: When does friendly turn frustrating? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Anvil of Crom: Tortage in four hours (or less)

Jef Reahard — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Opinion, The Anvil of Crom, Guides

So you've just created another Age of Conan alt and you're dreading a second (or third, or fourth) Tortage run-through. Maybe you've come back to the game after a long absence -- or you're completely new -- and your friends are waiting for you to get off the island in a hurry and join them in Hyboria proper. Regardless of the reason, many people prefer to zip through Age of Conan's newb levels once they've experienced the story a time or two (it does vary somewhat based on your class archetype, but in the end, you're still the liberator of Tortage, Strom's bane, yada, yada).

Since Funcom has yet to implement any skip-the-island functionality for those of us with multiple toons and plenty of Tortage experience, the only thing left to do is grin and bear it. Happily, though, The Anvil of Crom is here for you in the form of the Tortage Speed Run guide. Join me after the cut to see how I went from the character creation screen to stepping off the boat in Khemi with a level 16 Necromancer in a little under four hours.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Tortage in four hours (or less)

The Anvil of Crom: Tortage in four hours (or less) originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE shows off DC Universe Online newbie video

Jef Reahard — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, New titles, News items, DC Universe Online

For those of you who haven't run through DC Universe Online's tutorial instance 36,000 times by now, SOE has posted a new video to its Facebook page previewing a bit of the goings on aboard Brainiac's prison/invasion/newbie ship. The one-minute clip is full of furious fists, physics-based combat and flying containers -- and in a bit of a spoiler -- the Man of Steel himself shows up to lend newbs a helping hand.

Curiously, Superman's video voiceover isn't performed by Adam Baldwin, but other than that, the footage is exactly what you'll experience after you've fired up DCUO's character creator and taken your first steps into a larger world. Check it out after the cut and visit the game's official website for more details.

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SOE shows off DC Universe Online newbie video originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Starting fresh and clearing conceptions

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game mechanics, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter, Guides, Miscellaneous

So last week I had announced that I'd be going through some Mission Architect content for this week's column. There were two things that derailed that event, however. The first was dealing with the aftermath of a Thanksgiving holiday and an immense patch for another game which I cover, which meant that my playtime wasn't sufficient to give the submitted arcs the full attention each deserved. But the other one was a bit more interesting from a City of Heroes point of view, coming from a friend who decided to take advantage of the pricing on Monday and purchase the heck out of the game.

On the one hand, it's great that buying the game and getting into it are now so cheap that it can really be bought on a whim -- players can look forward to a pretty steady influx of new blood as a result. But City of Heroes, for all its casual-friendly nature, is a six-year-old game with all the complexity those years would imply. It's very easy for a new player to start in without the slightest idea of how the different archetypes play, or with ideas about the game that are built by other games. And life as a superhero is a pretty different experience than leveling yet another character in your fantasy game of choice.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Starting fresh and clearing conceptions

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Starting fresh and clearing conceptions originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XIV updates official site with a guide to interactions and guildleves

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

Despite the in-game tutorial, players in Final Fantasy XIV aren't given a straightforward idea of where to go after the first few steps in the game. Early adopters have been gamely figuring out what comes next as they go, but Square-Enix has put together a small primer for new players covering two of the essentials -- interacting with objects (including the all-important aetheryte) and the specifics of acquiring guildleves and carrying out local leves.

Some of the facts within the most recent dispatch will be familiar to players who have been in the game since the beginning, but the guide still includes interesting facts for all players, such as a map of the NPCs required for materials for some local leves. Veteran players can also appreciate the newly implemented History feature for individual characters, allowing one to track the progress of a character across Eorzea. Final Fantasy XIV newbies still won't have a straight line to walk through the game, but the addition of another guide should certainly help.

Final Fantasy XIV updates official site with a guide to interactions and guildleves originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Does a game need PvP to be successful?

Seraphina Brennan — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, Opinion

Player vs. Player combat seems to be a love it or hate it scenario. Players either engage in the behavior with an extreme liking, wondering when their blades will get to silence a screaming newbie or go up against the best of the best in battlegrounds, or players hate the activity with a passion to the point where they'll avoid it as much as possible.

In any case, this feature certainly has become a staple of MMOs, even going so far to have a couple games, like Darkfall, EVE Online, and Aion: The Tower of Eternity, making it one of their core focuses. So this leads to today's question: Do you think a game needs to include some form of PvP to be successful? Or can a game go with a purely player vs. environment or cooperative approach and still succeed?

Drop your thoughts into the comment box below and sound off.

The Daily Grind: Does a game need PvP to be successful? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Learning from the newbies

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion

Playing over someone's shoulder is always an interesting experience. You get to learn from what they do and interpret their experience from an outside perspective. But what's really interesting is not what the experienced player does -- rather it's what the inexperienced player does.

Psychochild just tackled this very topic over on his blog as he watched his better half get addicted to playing Lord of the Rings Online. While she avoided the temptations of Meridian 59 and World of Warcraft, Psychochild notes that it was a familiar setting that got her into the game.

Continue reading Learning from the newbies

Learning from the newbies originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Linden Lab puts out new newbie avatars

Tateru Nino — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Second Life

If you check the Library folder of your inventory, and look in Clothing, you'll see that Linden Lab appears to have selected the new Second Life newbie avatars from the set that Torley Linden was running the survey for earlier this week. We are not totally sure that these avatars are on offer to newbies today, but if they aren't, then it is probably only a matter of days before they become available to new signups at the selection screen.

The new avatars are from Nylon Pinkney, Adam n Eve, Renegade Clothing, Wraith Unsung and Grendel's Children. We recall that there were a number of fantasy/role-play themed avatars in the mix, but apparently none of those made the final cut. You can be a dragon, but not a dragon-slayer.

Pictured above are five of the new avatars. From left to right, they are: Gamer Female, Professional Female, Clubgoer Female (although at only five-feet two, she's easily mistaken for a minor. The underside of the prim-skirt on this avatar is messed up as well), Boy Next Door (as long as the boy next door to you is six foot, five inches -- he could be!), and Cardboard Boxbot. Older residents can access these avatars by dragging the folder onto themselves from the library which will generate a copy in your personal inventory.

[Thanks to sharp-eyed Sean Heying]

Linden Lab puts out new newbie avatars originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Newbie avatar survey

Tateru Nino — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:30:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Second Life

Linden Lab has been collecting new candidate avatars for new Second Life users to start with. As a part of the selection criteria for the final set, Torley Linden is running an unofficial survey to see which ones people like better.

The poll also takes into account the gender, age-group and nationality of the respondents, presumably to see if there's demographic groupings that lean toward specific choices. The survey doesn't take very long to complete. Head on over, give it a go, and make your preferences known.

Newbie avatar survey originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Player vs. Everything: Starting over

Cameron Sorden — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Classes, Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, Player vs. Everything

Most of us have spent a lot of time playing our favorite games. Chances are good that unless you're totally new to the MMOG world, you've got at least one character at some ridiculously high level, armed to the teeth, sitting on a big pile of gold amongst the trophies of your slaughtered foes. You might even be part of a guild and still play that character with your guildmates on a regular basis to go topple foes of ever-increasing power. It's good to be a dragon-slaying, world-destroying, gold-hoarding demigod of awesomeness.

That's why it's so tough to start over, sometimes. Whether it's rolling up an alt on your current game or picking up an entirely new game, it can be really frustrating to go from a bloodthirsty, battle-hardened warrior who wades into combat swinging an enormous, glowing two-handed sword to some level 1 nobody with a leather jerkin and a knife. All of your accomplishments on your old character seem pretty far away when level 3 wolves are having you for a light afternoon snack, and a brand new grind stretches out interminably before you. Is it any wonder why plenty of players don't even bother with having alts and stick to the game they like?

Continue reading Player vs. Everything: Starting over

Player vs. Everything: Starting over originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anti-Aliased: How to pick the MMO for you

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Massively Meta, Humor, Anti-Aliased

Let's be honest for a moment - there are a ton of MMOs out there. We have everything from fantasy, to dystopian future, to fantasy, to horror, to fantasy, to pirates, to fantasy, to sci-fi, and even all the way down to fantasy. While this is great for people who love choice, this is a complete nightmare (or should I say Bloodymare, ha ha, gaming puns) for anyone who's new to the genre or wants to start off with a fresh game that's different from what they're playing.

How do you separate the good from the bad? How do you know if you'll stick to a game? You don't want to gamble with an expensive game only to find out that you totally hate it and wish it would burn in the deepest depths of hell. (I'm looking at you, Risk Your Life.) So, do you rely on what your friends tell you or what reviewers tell you?

In my opinion, no one knows you except you. So when you sit down and want to pick the right game the first time, here's a few pointers and suggestions to get you started.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: How to pick the MMO for you

Anti-Aliased: How to pick the MMO for you originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 May 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The five misconceptions about EVE Online

Andrew Russo — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Reviews

EVE Online is not all about blasters, hokey religions, and mining some mean asteroids. Newbies are not blasted at every moment, their wrecks lining the EVE universe as a testament to the power of skill points. Heck, you do not have to focus on fighting. After all, there is more than one way to pop a pod! RPG Vault tackles such common misconceptions about EVE and attempts to shed some light on what really goes on in deep space.

They hit the nail on the head in more ways than one. Take for example, the EVE skill system. It is a detailed skill system designed so the casual player can train and still earn a paycheck, feed the dog, and maintain forward progress. Does that forward progress call for camping gates, destroying players, and leading a massive alliance onto glory? No, not at all! A player selling the simplest of vessels, the frigate, can have a huge impact on the economy. Some folks even spend most of their time on alts, spying and infiltrating other corporations, without a focus on any profession other than espionage. There are plenty of things to do and RPG Vault makes sure gamers considering getting plugged into a capsule have their heads on straight.

The five misconceptions about EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 May 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peering Inside: Disorienting experiences

Tateru Nino — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Second Life, Virtual worlds, Peering Inside

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to introduce a friend to Second Life. We'll call her Susan. That meant a run through the current orientation system. The whole process was an eye-opener, especially the part where Susan tried to beat me to death with her keyboard.

The last time I saw a Linden Lab orientation island it was one of the old ones (2005/2006). The new ones, though (2007/2008) - well, it's surprising that the retention is as high as ten percent.

The absolute highlight of the experience was a nude avatar by the name of Adam Neal, who ran around in circles for ten minutes or so yelling "ADAM NEAL CANNOT BE STOPPED!" -- no, really. That was one of the good bits, actually. The rest was worse.

Continue reading Peering Inside: Disorienting experiences

Peering Inside: Disorienting experiences originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warning the locals in EVE Online

Mike Schramm — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, PvP

Grok Newbie has an interesting idea for EVE pilots on the forums there: a gatecamp channel. If you're traveling around the universe, just sign in to a channel meant for reporting gatecamps, hear about trouble on there, and avoid getting blasted by someone sitting and waiting for travelers to warp into gates. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Well, kind of. It seems like a good way for new players to avoid trouble, until those wascally pirates get their hands on it. They could easily blast an "all-clear" signal over the channel to try and bait in unsuspecting ships, or send out a false alarm to keep people out of the system for whatever reason. As experienced pilots know, you can't trust players in EVE, so any channel run by players just wouldn't work.

But there are ways to keep an eye on what's happening anyway-- the local channels are usually a pretty good source of info on this vein. And the fact is that, for better or worse (to the joy of some players and the chagrin of others), if you're out of station in EVE, you're never truly safe. And that's the way many players, including the ones who can't wait to podkill you, want it

Warning the locals in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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