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I may have to break a promise I made here last week to stop talking so
much about games from the gPotato portal. I had the best of intentions
when I made that statement, but we all know the adage about said
intentions and their ability to provide a nice smooth surface for the
ride to hell. You see, an interesting thing happened in the short time
between publishing the last column and writing this one-- a game
launched its open beta and the servers were so overwhelmed that it
created a trickle down effect that eventually crashed the official
website and forums of that game. While this is hardly an unusual
phenomenon in today’s href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81099" target="_top">beta
crazy culture, it’s unheard of for a free-to-play.



Continuing to mirror the hype and intensity of an AAA title, style="font-style: italic;">Allods Online open
beta launch brought back memories of WoW as server queues were
instituted, login servers crashed and forums were too overloaded to
display properly. I was actually shocked at this development given all
of the whining and complaining lately over Astrum Nival's refusal thus
far to remove the Fear of Death mechanic from the game. We discuss this
in detail in this week’s feature, as the MMO community seems to be
shying away from its roots and shunning the notion that failure should
have a price.



We are also changing the way the Top Ten List works with this week’s
column. In the past it was based on buzz factors and special events as
well as forum activity; now it will be based on Ten Ton Hammer's own
Pulse meter. The ten highest rated games in our segment will garner the
spots here, and we will spotlight any newcomers to the list as well as
the game that made the biggest jump for the week.

---

No Risk - All Reward

A funny thing has happened to MMOG players in the last five years--they
seem to have lost the edgy persona that once made them stand out from
other run of the mill gamers. Now, before I get blasted by those of you
who still wear your hardcoreness (is that a word?) like a badge of
bloodied honor, I know hardcore MMO gameplay still exists in pockets in
many games, and en masse in  style="font-style: italic;">Eve Online, but
overall what was once the trait that separated us from the run of the
mill gamers has greatly diminished.



The first generation of MMOGs featured some pretty harsh death
penalties. Players were faced with the prospects of everything from
experience loss to item loss or, even worse, the permanent death of
your character. The most popular of those early games was style="font-style: italic;">EverQuest, which
featured a death penalty that caused instant experience loss and forced
you to return your fallen body and loot your items manually, with a
”corpse rot” timer, which compelled you to complete the process
quickly. Playing with the unpleasant side-effects of death looming over
one’s head was a huge motivator to proceed with the utmost caution and
inspired a sense of danger lurking around each unexplored twist and
turn in the game world.



The newer generation of games has sadly departed from this style of
“punishment" for failure, and with that departure comes a lessened
feeling of investment in the characters and the games themselves. A
strong sense of foreboding, and the element of danger, created some of
the most memorable gaming experiences I have ever had and it saddens me
that most of the current crop of players will never be able to
replicate those experiences because they demand that developers dumb
down their games and take away any mechanic that is perceived as too
harsh. 



Allods Online
is attempting to buck this trend with the Fear of Death mechanic;
however the resistance they are meeting from the player base is
substantial. Fear of Death is a penalty that scales with level and at
max level the player incurs a 25% stat loss that lasts for
approximately 50 minutes. The debuff can be removed by the use of an
item shop "perfume," which can also be bought with in-game money, or by
paying an NPC with in-game money to remove it (similar to style="font-style: italic;">Aion). Players who
are resurrected by other players are not given the debuff.



While most of the nay saying comes from players who decry the mechanic
for its PvP implications, it does carry over into the PvE crowd as
well. With so much being made of the mechanic gPotato issued this
statement regarding it:



Hi Everyone!



Thank you for all of the feedback you’ve provided regarding the Fear of
Death game mechanic.  We wanted to let you all know that the
team has been actively reading every forum post, tweet, and e-mail
that’s been coming in, and it’s amazing to know that the players are
very passionate about Allods Online.



We work directly with Astrum Nival (the developer) multiple times a day
in spite of the time zone difference between Russia and the United
States.  One of our major topics of conversation is discussing
player suggestions and feedback which make sense for Allods. 
So, for those of you who take the time to write a well thought out
feature suggestion or feedback regarding new features, thank
you.  We really appreciate the effort you make to share your
thoughts on Allods.

The Fear of Death game mechanic appears to be an issue with the
mechanic itself, as well as how the mechanic ties into the cash
shop.  On that note, as a subscriptionless game, there are
several points that we are mindful of when dealing with our cash shop:

1.       To
introduce items which make the Allods experience more enjoyable and fun



2.       To
introduce items that complement/assist existing game mechanics



3.       To
introduce items that do not allow players to automatically create
winning characters



4.       To give
all players, even those that don’t spend a single cent in the game, the
opportunity play on the same level as those that pay-to-play



As a subscription-less game, we expect to make money in the cash
shop.  We also care deeply about the integrity of the game and
how specific game mechanics will affect the use of the cash
shop.  When we decide to introduce a game mechanic like Fear
of Death, we don’t expect all of our users to be in agreement, but we
do hope that the detractors will stay open-minded, patient, and show
some faith with the game design decisions that Astrum Nival
makes.  It’s important for us to let our players know that
Astrum Nival does extensive research and tests when determining how to
integrate new game mechanics—especially those which tie directly into
the cash shop.



As a fan of harsher death penalties, I hope this mechanic stays in
place when the game goes live, although I do think that a compromise
for PvP wouldn't be a bad thing since there isn’t always a resurrection
from an ally available. But as to the PvE aspect of the game, making
death meaningful would separate Allods
from the pack of bland and boring games that are dominating the market.




How do you feel about death penalties (in game of course folks, I don't
want to start a debate over capital punishment here)? Are you in favor
of making in game choices feel like a matter of life or death? Or would
you rather they merely be a minor inconvenience? Let us know in our
forums and, until next week, stay safe and stay free.



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• Allods
  Online Archetype Interview Series Part 3 - The Mage
  
  Continuing our series in Allods Online Archetype interviews. Even
  though our hosts from gPotato's names may sound a legal firm, they are
  actually a knowledgeable GM and Community Manager. .
  
• Runes
  of Magic: Player vs. Player Overview
  
  ZeroMerc takes us on a guided tour of the world of PvP in RoM. If you
  have unquenchable bloodthirst, go in with all the info you need or get
  pwn'd.
• target="_top">Allods Cash Shop Prices Spark Backlash from
  Community`
  
  Microtransaction portion of game has players up in arms. Economics
  majors everywhere still think its a good deal.