I think the fact that you can see every class bitching about every other class being overpowered is a good indication that the balance is pretty darn close. Not perfect, but it's close.
They didn't design the games better, they designed them differently. Eve doesn't use instancing because it goes against the fundamental game design of their persistent world. It's a design choice. They want everything to happen in the same space, and it does. No other MMO provides as unified a game universe as Eve, and the players are quite grateful for that.
Go mention instancing or sharding on the Eve forums and see what kind of reaction you get. The players don't want these things, and are making their choice known by choosing to pay CCP for their game instead of SOE or Blizzard.
Even in single-player games, it's amazing how seldom your actions affect the world.
I'm still trying to figure out how this is insightful. Yes it sounds great in theory, but can you imagine the nightmare of actually making such a beast? It's ugly enough making enough content to keep people busy for months in a static enviroment. Now if every player could effect some lasting impact on the game world, you need to make more content for each possible version of the game world. The more branching trees in the timeline, the more 'ability to change' you grant, the more content you need to make. Exponentially more content. Add in the fact that a large portion of this content will NEVER be seen because that particular branch isn't picked, and you can start to appreciate just how much money and time is being thrown out by this model.
'At Will' is a two-way thing. Either the employee or the employer have the right to terminate employment at any time, for any reason.
The employer doesn't need a reason to fire him. They can simply say "We no longer require your services" and show him the door and there's nothing he can do about it.
There is no such thing as 'inalienable human rights' in the real world. The only reason we enjoy these rights is because alot of people were willing to fight and die for them.
Noone in this world is entitled to jack shit. Once you realize this, you become much more appreciative of the freedoms and privilages you are lucky enough to enjoy.
Well, because of these extensions being possible, no new material is entering the public domain. Hence Disney is running out of material to use without paying royalties. Ironic how they've undermined their own business model...
What you're seeing is Sony's content and hardware divisions impacting their games division. The content guys want Blu-Ray because of the copy-protection, and the hardware guys want Blu-Ray so they can sell their new set-top stuff.
The PS3 is just a way to push the technology so the rest of the company can benefit. They did the same thing with DVD's and the PS2.
I think that games are an art-form just as much as any other entertainment media. The problem is that we try to compare games to other media to determine their 'worthiness' as an example of art.
For example: Many seem to think that for a game to be art, it must have a decent plot/character development/etc. These are things we expect from storytelling media. (books, movies, theatre) However, when was the last time someone talked about the intricate plot of a Michaelangelo sculpture, or a Debussy piano concerto? Does this mean they are not art? (The same could be said for graphics and sound in games)
We need to stop thinking of games as interactive movies or interactive novels, and start thinking of them as GAMES. Start looking at the artistic merit of the experience these things provide that no other medium does.
This is not a valid comparison. EQ never hit the kind of scale the WoW has. Blizzard is dealing with a subscriber base that no MMO has come close to. A solution that worked for SoE may not scale to the levels that Blizzard needs.
Yes, the service is not very consistent, and definitely should be better. There is no excuse. But you can't really say that these problems have been fixed before, as noone has been in this situation prior to Blizzard.
Nerf is not an acronym, it's actually an obvious description once you understand the context.
Baseball bat = Hurts a lot
Nerf Baseball bat = Hurts much less than normal bat.
When something in an MMO is 'nerfed' it's power or effectiveness is reduced. (This is usually done because something is over-powered, or imbalances the game in some way)
The 40-man instances only reset once a week. Meaning you have a full week from the first boss kill to clear the instance.
If you can get a consistent group, just get a reasonable daily schedule going. Say, 3 hours max/day for one week. 3 hours is a relatively casual commitment, but still sufficient to clear the instance before reset.
Supposedly the next instance on the books after AQ is going to be a 10-man raid instance. I'm very happy to see something smaller scale coming in for the high end. (I can't remember the name of it, but it's accessed via Stratholme)
The Temple of Atal'Hakkar, I believe. It's referred to that way, and as The Sunken Temple in game, making things very confusing if you don't know they're the same place.
The first time I played Halo was on the normal difficulty. I found it an okay game, but nothing spectacular. Then for kicks I jumped the difficulty up to legendary. The difference in AI was astounding. It's not that there were more enemies, or that they were simply stronger. It's that they behaved much more intelligently. The fights were much more interesting and engaging. Normal difficulty just doesn't do the game justice.
Level design did suck though, that can't be denied.
Slashdot Mirror
Duh, you need to click the meeting stone next to the garage. Mebbe you were too low level for an oil run...
Read what you quoted.
I love you.
I think the fact that you can see every class bitching about every other class being overpowered is a good indication that the balance is pretty darn close. Not perfect, but it's close.
They didn't design the games better, they designed them differently. Eve doesn't use instancing because it goes against the fundamental game design of their persistent world. It's a design choice. They want everything to happen in the same space, and it does. No other MMO provides as unified a game universe as Eve, and the players are quite grateful for that.
Go mention instancing or sharding on the Eve forums and see what kind of reaction you get. The players don't want these things, and are making their choice known by choosing to pay CCP for their game instead of SOE or Blizzard.
40 man raid dungeon, 20 man raid dungeon, as well as solo and 5-man quest content. AQ is not just for raiders.
'At Will' is a two-way thing. Either the employee or the employer have the right to terminate employment at any time, for any reason.
The employer doesn't need a reason to fire him. They can simply say "We no longer require your services" and show him the door and there's nothing he can do about it.
There is no such thing as 'inalienable human rights' in the real world. The only reason we enjoy these rights is because alot of people were willing to fight and die for them.
Noone in this world is entitled to jack shit. Once you realize this, you become much more appreciative of the freedoms and privilages you are lucky enough to enjoy.
Well, by FARK standards...
Talks between the two companies had pretty much stopped because Jobs didn't like Eisner. Once he was out of the picture, things sweetened up.
Well, because of these extensions being possible, no new material is entering the public domain. Hence Disney is running out of material to use without paying royalties. Ironic how they've undermined their own business model...
What you're seeing is Sony's content and hardware divisions impacting their games division. The content guys want Blu-Ray because of the copy-protection, and the hardware guys want Blu-Ray so they can sell their new set-top stuff.
The PS3 is just a way to push the technology so the rest of the company can benefit. They did the same thing with DVD's and the PS2.
They'll keep doing it as long as it sells games. A boycott is the best way to affect change in this situation.
I think that games are an art-form just as much as any other entertainment media. The problem is that we try to compare games to other media to determine their 'worthiness' as an example of art.
For example: Many seem to think that for a game to be art, it must have a decent plot/character development/etc. These are things we expect from storytelling media. (books, movies, theatre) However, when was the last time someone talked about the intricate plot of a Michaelangelo sculpture, or a Debussy piano concerto? Does this mean they are not art? (The same could be said for graphics and sound in games)
We need to stop thinking of games as interactive movies or interactive novels, and start thinking of them as GAMES. Start looking at the artistic merit of the experience these things provide that no other medium does.
This is not a valid comparison. EQ never hit the kind of scale the WoW has. Blizzard is dealing with a subscriber base that no MMO has come close to. A solution that worked for SoE may not scale to the levels that Blizzard needs.
Yes, the service is not very consistent, and definitely should be better. There is no excuse. But you can't really say that these problems have been fixed before, as noone has been in this situation prior to Blizzard.
Nerf is not an acronym, it's actually an obvious description once you understand the context.
Baseball bat = Hurts a lot
Nerf Baseball bat = Hurts much less than normal bat.
When something in an MMO is 'nerfed' it's power or effectiveness is reduced. (This is usually done because something is over-powered, or imbalances the game in some way)
They're replacing the ENTIRE CLUSTER with 64bit blade servers. They're expecting a significant performance increase after the upgrade.
The 40-man instances only reset once a week. Meaning you have a full week from the first boss kill to clear the instance.
If you can get a consistent group, just get a reasonable daily schedule going. Say, 3 hours max/day for one week. 3 hours is a relatively casual commitment, but still sufficient to clear the instance before reset.
Supposedly the next instance on the books after AQ is going to be a 10-man raid instance. I'm very happy to see something smaller scale coming in for the high end. (I can't remember the name of it, but it's accessed via Stratholme)
The article summary reads like your typical bitch post on the WoW forums.
In other words: Yes, very poor.
The Temple of Atal'Hakkar, I believe. It's referred to that way, and as The Sunken Temple in game, making things very confusing if you don't know they're the same place.
Finally picked up 'Shadow of the Colossus' this weekend. If that game isn't art, then there's something wrong with this world.
The first time I played Halo was on the normal difficulty. I found it an okay game, but nothing spectacular. Then for kicks I jumped the difficulty up to legendary. The difference in AI was astounding. It's not that there were more enemies, or that they were simply stronger. It's that they behaved much more intelligently. The fights were much more interesting and engaging. Normal difficulty just doesn't do the game justice.
Level design did suck though, that can't be denied.
There is something to be said about having 12 guys on 3 TV's in your apartment going at it in Halo 2.
The neighbors hate us.