The Chinese shops that farm for gold on American servers go through hoops (IP spoofing?) in order to log into the North American servers, rather than being directed to the Chinese servers. I eould imagine that they are completely unaffected by this control as a result.
Does tricking investors have anything to do with assasination?
"After a months-long infiltration operation, the Eve Online corporation Guiding Hand Social Club managed to work its agents high into the ranks of the Ubiqua Seraph corp (corps are Eve's version of guilds), from whence they pulled off what is being called the biggest heist/coup/assassination in Eve history, making away with $16,500 worth of virtual goods-and all within the letter of Eve law.
The PC Gamer article linked above is a fantastic narrative retelling of the operation. And this writer feels that beside being a good story, the fact that such a sophisticated operation is not only possible but actually took place is testament to the success of Eve's design."
Check it out.
Read an article in a gaming magazine a few months ago about a massive coordinated effort to assasinate and rob blind a large guild in the game. That a game could have a universe that allowed such treachery quite frankly shocked me. Most MMOs these days are all about babying the player through the game. No lasting consequences for mistakes, etc. I'll have to see if I can find a link to it.
Guild Wars, which had it's free World Preview Event over this past weekend, is a great example of competitive balance in a manner similar to what you mentioned. There are 6 classes a person has to choose from, each with 75 available skills to be learned. Players are only able to 'equip' 8 skills for any mission/instance from their primary or secondary class. The level cap is 20. Once you reach 20 (which can be done in 2 days or so if you work hard enough), you are essentially on an equal playing field with everyone, regardless of how long they have been playing the game. You can continue to learn new skills beyond level 20, but you are still limited to only carrying 8 at any given moment. While older characters may be much more versatile (with planning) than new characters, they are never necessarily at an advantage due to their age.
Ultimate Baseball Online ? I participated in the beta test earlier this year (which may very well still be going on), and it is exactly what this article states does not exist.
Apart from having to wait your turn to bat (which can be a bit frustrating if it takes 2 to 3 innings to cycle back around to you), the game was great fun. Graphics were a bit dated, but a game like this isn't a smuch about graphics as gameplay.
Slashdot Mirror
Use the instrument panel, Luke! That's what it's there for!
The Chinese shops that farm for gold on American servers go through hoops (IP spoofing?) in order to log into the North American servers, rather than being directed to the Chinese servers. I eould imagine that they are completely unaffected by this control as a result.
On the other hand, this might be the ONLY kind of game it is suited for :/
Time will tell.
No violence involved, but you should see what some of the females can do with the ping-pong balls!
Does tricking investors have anything to do with assasination? "After a months-long infiltration operation, the Eve Online corporation Guiding Hand Social Club managed to work its agents high into the ranks of the Ubiqua Seraph corp (corps are Eve's version of guilds), from whence they pulled off what is being called the biggest heist/coup/assassination in Eve history, making away with $16,500 worth of virtual goods-and all within the letter of Eve law. The PC Gamer article linked above is a fantastic narrative retelling of the operation. And this writer feels that beside being a good story, the fact that such a sophisticated operation is not only possible but actually took place is testament to the success of Eve's design." Check it out.
Read an article in a gaming magazine a few months ago about a massive coordinated effort to assasinate and rob blind a large guild in the game. That a game could have a universe that allowed such treachery quite frankly shocked me. Most MMOs these days are all about babying the player through the game. No lasting consequences for mistakes, etc. I'll have to see if I can find a link to it.
Thank God!
Mod parent up. Great point.
Profitability is a biproduct of good products and/or good customer service.
Slashdot used for apparent viral marketing ploy.
Wish I had mod points right now. Great post.
But in Doom 3 everyone was covered in a highly reflective sheet of saran wrap
Slashdotted in 3 minutes, that has to be a record.
Guild Wars, which had it's free World Preview Event over this past weekend, is a great example of competitive balance in a manner similar to what you mentioned. There are 6 classes a person has to choose from, each with 75 available skills to be learned. Players are only able to 'equip' 8 skills for any mission/instance from their primary or secondary class. The level cap is 20. Once you reach 20 (which can be done in 2 days or so if you work hard enough), you are essentially on an equal playing field with everyone, regardless of how long they have been playing the game. You can continue to learn new skills beyond level 20, but you are still limited to only carrying 8 at any given moment. While older characters may be much more versatile (with planning) than new characters, they are never necessarily at an advantage due to their age.
Ultimate Baseball Online ? I participated in the beta test earlier this year (which may very well still be going on), and it is exactly what this article states does not exist. Apart from having to wait your turn to bat (which can be a bit frustrating if it takes 2 to 3 innings to cycle back around to you), the game was great fun. Graphics were a bit dated, but a game like this isn't a smuch about graphics as gameplay.