Loading.... Sandboxing Heavyweights

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The Pulse

You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is Pulse?).

Here's today's top 5 Pulse results:

Biggest Movers in the Top 20 today :

Stargate Worlds (UP 9 to #15)
Jumpgate Evolution (UP 4 to #19)
Tabula Rasa (UP 3 to #11)

Loading... Daily

Loading... has gone a few rounds with the sandboxers in its time.

If we look at the Bartle's taxonomy of online gamers (that an online gamer's sense of fun is derviced from either Achieving, Socializing, Explorering, or Killing / Griefing - it's handy to use, even if real life isn't so clear-cut), easily the least represented group is the type most hated by the rest, mostly because their joy is based solely the pain of others. Certainly Ultima Online is still loved by many by staying fairly hardcore on PK looting rules, and most MMOs have a Free-For-All (FFA) server meant to cater to the player killers, even if looting your kill remains verboten.

The paradigm continues to shift: the growth of the PvP server numbers in WoW, coupled with the advent of the Battleground and Arena, traces the desire of players to get more gritty with their PvP. But players have likewise realized that a mainstream MMOs will never deliver a truly FFA experience - there's too much money to be made among us carebears. Cue Darkfall, a roughhousing fantasy MMO seven years in the making, and Mortal Online, a concept barely breached but nonetheless attracting attention with it's quality Unreal Engine 3-powered graphics.

As for Darkfall's chances, opinions are all over the map. Much of the press and pseudo-press remains locked out despite the NDA drop. Speaking for Ten Ton Hammer, we got press beta invites but no key. We continue to bang on the door, but citing problems with the scale of player interest, Aventurine has apparently opted to skip an open beta (!) and proceed directly to a launch limited to a very small number of pre-order players. With only the most gung-ho for Darkfall's success playing, it may be some time before we get any kind of objective opinion on the game, so Ten Ton Hammer will reserve our opinion until we have an informed one. A limited launch ultimately increased the hype around the X360 and Wii, why shouldn't it work for an MMO?

Regardless of Darkfall's approach, my opinion remains that FFA rules absolutely don't work unless new players have a fairly safe place to develop into capable fighters. EVE accomplishes this with CONCORD-patrolled empire space, though those intent on killing rookies continue to find ways around the rules (which is as it should be in a true sandbox: nothing should be impossible, but the difficulty should be high and the risk should be great). I also believe that FFA works better if a new player has a slim outside chance of beating a lazy skilled player, though that's probably impossible to design.

Policing newbie killers and griefers is much easier (and more believable) in a sci-fi MMO, with instant communication and travel, but the same could be accomplished with magic in a fantasy MMO. Or just have a a few walled cities with numerous exit points just for newbs where players of a certain skill have to surrender their weapons until they leave. Alternatively, maybe you can sneak in through the dangerous sewers but risk having your weapons permanently confiscated if you're caught. One of my favorite heritage quests in EverQuest 2 required Qeynos players to sneak into Freeport in just this way, though as I recall the only penalty was only being tossed out of the city if you were caught.

Giving newbs a fighting chance is just one facet of creating a quality FFA experience (lest you create a Bring Your Own Guild scenario that takes I feel takes away from the co-op community feel, and that's why many of us started playing MMOs to begin with). But a PvP fueled endgame has a much better chance of taking care of itself, given such petty concerns as class balance are fulfilled.

What are your thoughts on FFA and sandbox MMOs? Are you a make your own fun kind of player, or do you prefer an MMO "themepark"? Discuss in the Loading... forum, or feel free to email me.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day

From our Darkfall Forum

Darkfall NDA is Lifted

Gamer reactions to Darkfall
range from proclamations that it is a sandbox-style, skill-based MMOG
messiah to, "WTF is Darkfall?" Regardless of where your response falls
in that spectrum, now is the time to learn more or, if you're
lucky enough to be a beta tester, talk more--the Darkfall NDA has been lifted.

Will
the fantasy MMOG, scheduled for a digitally distributed European
release on February 25, 2009, fulfill the expectations of its rabid
fans? Or will it falter under the weighty skepticism of gamers who
question everything from its extra-long development period to its
apparent lack of any sort of open beta? Step into our thread to get the scoop on Darkfall's release, pricing, and more. And while you're there, share your thoughts about next week's launch.

=================================

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread:

"The ninja tripped.

Graphics Card: 128MB PixelShader 2.0 support

megaflux: I would like to know if the game will be visually dated by
spending so much time in development (weren't we using [DirectX 8] when
it was first being made?) or if you have managed to keep everything up
to snuff so we can look forward to a FULLY [DirectX 10]-supported game.

Aventurine: The engine has been updated continuously throughout the
development and we’re very happy not only with its current performance
but also with its potential for future updates.

A simple 'Yes, of course it will look dated,' would have been sufficient."

- megaflux

=================================

Do you have a favorite Epic Thread? Let
us know!

6 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 89 in February! 225 in 2009!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]

Exclusive NYC ComicCon Video

Op/Eds

Forever Fantasy: Can Darkfall Become a Legend

Guides

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:

Real World News

Giant rabbits to return to Spanish menus

Tiny font on menus will have to be read through the looking glass provided to each restaurant patron.
Sacramento police recover Armstrong's stolen bike

Lance wasn't upset at the ordeal, says he had a ball.
Theft of 99 cent roll of toilet paper lands woman in jail

Defending counsel is confident that her record will be wiped clean.

Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

-Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Darkfall: Unholy Wars Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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