Guild Wars 2 Moving To Expansions

Guild Wars 2 is a game I haven't played in years. The first expansion, Heart of Thorns, just did not appeal to me. The game returned to my attention because of a change in its content release practices.

In a news article Monday, Game Director Josh "Grouch" Davis announced the change. He stated that Living World seasons have required almost the entire GW2 development team. The disadvantages were that trying to develop an expansion was difficult and many areas of the game went undersupported. 

At this point, the solution sounds familiar.

In the next phase of Guild Wars 2‘s development, we’re taking a more balanced approach that will allow us to provide more support for popular game modes, make frequent quality-of-life improvements to core gameplay systems like professions, deliver new features, and expand the world of Tyria with satisfying, immersive story updates.

What It Means for You

Our future expansions for Guild Wars 2 will be the backbone of this new approach. Rather than launching an expansion every two to four years with a season of Living World in between, we’ll be releasing smaller expansions more frequently at a slightly reduced price and adding additional content for those expansions through quarterly updates, meaning that the next big release is only ever a few months away.

The first release in an expansion cycle is the launch point for a new story arc, bringing with it two new open-world maps, two Strike Missions, new gameplay and combat features, new Masteries, and new rewards. In the following quarterly updates, we’ll add another open-world map, additional story chapters, challenge modes for the Strike Missions, a new fractal dungeon and challenge mode, new rewards, and additions to the new systems introduced in that expansion. Once that expansion’s story is complete, the next expansion will be just around the corner.

The change seems a lot like the system used in Final Fantasy XIV, with an expansion approximately every 2 years with five main post-expansion patches providing continuations of the story, new dungeons, trials, and other content, plus updates to systems. The big difference is that in FFXIV, the expansion's story usually concludes in the X.3 patch and the final two patches lead up to the next expansion's story.

ArenaNet, who went from September 2017 to February 2022 between GW2's third and fourth expansions, isn't the only studio moving to a faster expansion release cycle. CCP launched Uprising last year, EVE Online's first expansion in 4 years. The Icelandic game studio is returning to its old release cycle, with plans to launch expansions in the second and fourth quarters in 2023.

Even Blizzard jumped onto the bandwagon, at least in promising to deliver content on a reliable schedule. At the end of December, WoW Executive Producer Holly Longdale introduced a roadmap for the Dragonflight expansion covering all of 2023.

Usually games are marked as leaders when the big guys start to copy features from the game. Guild Wars 2 caught my eye recently when its flying mount system was copied by Blizzard and turned into a major selling point for Dragonflight. Another leader is now Square Enix, particularly Creative Business Unit 3, as companies begin to copy its development cycle.

EVE Online Financial Performance In Relation To Other Games

A long-standing meme amongst EVE Online players is that EVE is dying. But a funny thing happened when Pearl Abyss purchased CCP. We now get to see how well the EVE IP is performing financially. Since Pearl Abyss breaks out financial information by intellectual property, we get to see how well (or poorly) EVE Online is doing, at least until the mobile game EVE: Echoes launches.

Q2 2019 earnings from the NCSoft

I saw Jason Winter, a games journalist who currently writes for, among other places, MMOBomb.com, tweeting about the revenues for Guild Wars 2 and EVE. I've followed Jason's work since his Gamebreaker days and thought I'd take his idea in a slightly different direction. Instead of comparing casual vs hard core games, how about revenue generated by games run by two Korean companies.

Just as an FYI, my initial thought on this wasn't to say "GW2 better than Eve lol" but to be a little confused over the "Casual games are all the rage, it's all companies should make" vs. "Companies should make more hardcore games rather than appeal to casuals" dichotomy.

— Jason Winter 🥔 (@winterinformal) August 12, 2019

I took all of the NCSoft games, with the exception of Lineage, and converted their revenue from the Korean won to the U.S. dollar. That might give some idea of the health of EVE, right?

EVE vs NCSoft (minus Lineage)

Yes, EVE only beats Aion in revenue for the first half of 2019. But I can't help but think if CCP and NetEase had managed to get Serenity up and running in China again, EVE would actually beat Guild Wars 2's performance. If anyone had said that, outside of China, EVE was performing financially as well as GW2, would anyone have believed that statement?

A Quick Look At Buying Legitimate Gold In Guild Wars 2

I started playing Guild Wars 2 again 6 weeks ago. The game is a nice break from EVE, which I needed. I normally need a break after the CSM season and GW2 provided the break this year. I rolled up a sylvari necromancer and hit level 74 last night. I fell into a pattern of doing the personal story when I become eligible and then grind crafting materials and level both my character's crafting skills (tailor and jeweler). Rince and repeat until complete. I think I'll have the personal story complete within the next two weeks. After that, I can return to EVE refreshed and with a different perspective on the game.

Guild Wars 2 is a free-to-play game unless you wish to play the latest content. The game then turns into buy-to-play. I purchased the Heart of Thorns sometime last year, so I don't count as a free-to-play player. Still, I found myself spending $20 because I wanted to expand my bank space. Of all the things that F2P and B2P games offer, extra bank space is what I normally pull out the credit card to purchase.

One thing I've never purchased with real world cash is in-game currency. Not even in EVE. Spending money on gold or ISK never made sense to me, and probably never will. The only reason I have over 2700 PLEX is the mystery code from the two copies of the Collector's Edition I own plus all the Aurum CCP gave out over the years that were recently converted to the new-style PLEX. I guess I should add that I won one of my Collector's Editions in a contest, so only 500 of the PLEX I own were a result of any real world purchases.

Like EVE, Guild Wars 2 allows players to convert real world money into in-game currency through the purchase of gems. But to someone who's played EVE for almost 8 years, the GW2 system is a bit bizarre.

Gem Prices In US Dollars

Unlike in EVE, players do not get cheaper prices for purchasing larger amounts of gems. One gem always converts to 1.25 cents, or $0.0125. Therefore, at the purchasing stage, the player has no incentive to purchase larger amounts of gems.

Where the system becomes strange to the EVE player is the actual exchange of gold and gems between players. In EVE, a player posts either a buy or sell order on the market, someone else comes along and fulfills the order, and a direct swap is made. ArenaNet runs their system a little differently.

Buying gold using gems

The GW2 Official Wiki describes the mechanics:

The initial interface panel displays standard exchange amounts and how many coins or gems are required for purchase. Click on Buy next to the desired transaction to complete the purchase.

•  Gold exchanges include intervals of 1, 10, 50, 100, 250, and custom
•  Gem exchanges include intervals of 400, 800, 1200, 2000, and custom

• Exchange rates are determined by supply and demand from players. Since supply and demand affects the rate, the ratio can shift rapidly depending on market conditions, especially when the Gem Store adds new items.
  • The exchange has a supply of both Gems and Gold. When you trade to the exchange you influence the supply of each. The exchange rate is relative to current supply of each. The price changes geometrically as one pool empties creating a better exchange rate for the low supplied currency. The supplies are contained entirely within the exchange.^[1]
  • Due to currency exchange inflation, the value of purchased gems has increased over time. Conversely, the value of in-game gold used to purchase items in the Gem Store has decreased.
• Transaction fee is a 15% fee for trading gems for gold or vice-versa. For example, exchanging 1  gives 85  worth of gems while reselling those gems returns only around 72  25 , resulting in a net loss of roughly 28%.

In other words, trying to make gold off of the ebbs and flows of the market using gems isn't really viable. In addition, free accounts may only perform gem to gold exchanges. Gold to gem conversions are reserved for those who either purchased the original GW2 or Heart of Thorns expansion.

From http://www.gw2spidy.com/gem

The graph above, from Guild Wars 2 Spidy, shows the large discrepancy between the gold to gems vs the gems to gold exchange rate. The difference in price between buying 100 gems with gold versus selling 100 gems for gold is approximately 10 gold. Needless to say, I don't think people in GW2 engage in some of the same types of market play as happens in EVE concerning PLEX.

I plan on taking a closer look at the Guild Wars 2 cash shop in the near future. First though, I do need to finish up the personal story. I think having the additional experience in GW2 will help perform a more informed comparison between GW2 and EVE's cash shop. Besides, I enjoy playing Guild Wars 2 and I'd like to say I finished the original content for another game.

Goodbye 2016!

I think a lot of people will agree with the sentiment that happiness is viewing 2016 in the rear view mirror. I won't go on about real life; I think enough people outside gaming have already done so. Instead I'll take a quick look at gaming, or at least what has seeped into my awareness.

Odds And Ends

I have a lot of thoughts running through my head, but not a lot of time to type them out. So I thought I'd just mention some that I really should turn into posts one day.

First, the whole Chris Roberts vs. Derek Smart thing. Seriously, I'd ignore the whole thing except something funny is going on with the Star Citizen Terms of Service. If you don't like the way CCP handles EULA/ToS rulings, then don't play Star Citizen. I haven't figured out if Chris Roberts and Cloud Imperium Games are incompetent or just extremely shady. Either way, if you haven't fallen for the hype, don't hand out any money. Personally, I think if Roberts and Smart played EVE, neither one would ever leave Jita.

Next, I decided to renew my interest in EVE by playing Guild Wars 2. I should probably write a series on why playing other MMORPGs leads me to play EVE, but in GW2's case, it comes down to farming for jute. I'm up to level 21, but I'm still in Queensdale, a level 1-15 area, farming jute to level up my armorsmithing skills. At least I'm getting a lot of cooking supplies.

Speaking of EVE, Vanguard launched yesterday. I scanned down a couple of anomalies, but the important thing I did was set up to do run some level 4 mining missions in low sec. Signal Cartel is under a new wardec, so I thought I'd do some missions on my alt. Of course, I really should fit out the Stratios I built and go on a nice long trip through low sec. I have to do some theory crafting, but I think carrying around a mobile depot will prove indispensable. And if the wardecs ever stop, I'll finish running Wildfire, the level 4 epic arc for the Minmatar.

In another event, Wildstar did its free-to-play launch yesterday. Not only is the subscription gone, but they apparently have simplified the game. I probably should download the game again, if only to see how the game performs on a real computer. Last year, I played on a computer that could barely eek out 20 FPS even on low settings. This year, I have a computer than meets the recommended specs for running the Oculus Rift. I've noticed quite a difference playing many games. I wonder what Wildstar looks like with the graphics cranked up.

Oh, and I really should mention the latest Scope video. CCP got sneaky and released the latest video on a Tuesday. Really, were they trying to make us think yesterday was Friday and convince all of us to sleep in on a "Saturday"? I guess the Guristas stealing a supercarrier is kind of noteworthy.

I do have a question for the lore hounds. Have the Caldari done anything to upset the Drifters? Ishukone's CEO Mens Reppola is conducting an inspection trip and significant NPC characters are getting ganked. Didn't Ishukone play a major role in spreading Jovian pod technology throughout New Eden? Think the Drifters may hold a grudge?

Oh, and I did get a kick out of this news item in the Scope video:

"Egonics launches new augmented reality headset at YC117 Caille Technology Expo." 

I think that's a reference to Gunjack showing up at EVE Vegas this year. Or was that a reference to either EVE N_T or EVEsterdam? With all the player gatherings that CCP is either running or supporting, I get confused.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll find the time to write some real blog posts in the near future.

Guild Wars 2: Not Really Free-To-Play

On Saturday, ArenaNet confirmed that Guild Wars 2 would finally launch an expansion, Heart of Thorns. I'm not saying I'm excited for the game, but I've already pre-ordered the expansion. The expansion doesn't launch until 23 October. On an unrelated note, I'm taking that Friday off from work and I highly doubt anyone will see me logged into EVE that weekend.

The other bit of news to come out of PAX Prime was that Guild Wars 2 is going free-to-play. Well, not really. Just the original content. But that's only 80 levels. One thing I looked up is that if someone doesn't already have Guild Wars 2, you can download the client and apply the code for the expansion to upgrade to a paid account.

Why would I do that since I bought the original game and have a level 80 ranger? Well, I should say, had a level 80 ranger. I forgot my password and can't find the serial number to my copy of the software, so I'm out of luck. But that's okay, because I wanted to roll a new character anyway. Of course, I then found out about druids. Hmmm. Oh well.

When any game turns to the free-to-play model, the developer needs to worry about real money trading and all the evils that go along with that. ArenaNet addressed the subject in their announcement:

"A game like Guild Wars 2 lives and dies by its community. Our goal is to protect our current community but also to make it as easy as possible for you to introduce the game to your friends, to recruit new players into your guilds, to challenge new players to Player vs. Player matches, and so on.

"It’s trickier than you’d think to accomplish both objectives. We have to ensure that free accounts can’t be used to abuse the game or its current players (through botting, cheating, spamming, or RMT) while still making sure that free accounts get the authentic Guild Wars 2 experience.

"Here are the changes we made for free accounts.

"First, free accounts start with fewer character slots and bag slots than the paid version of the game. But they still get the full complement of slots as soon as they buy Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.

"Second, free accounts have some chat restrictions and economy restrictions so that they can’t be used to disrupt the game for other players. Free accounts can use local chat and whispers, but not map chat. With whispers, they can both start new conversations and reply to existing conversations but are limited to starting new conversations no more than once every 30 seconds. Free accounts can buy and sell common goods on the trading post. They can’t mail gold or items directly to other players, trade gold for gems, or access guild vaults.

"Third, free accounts have some restrictions to prevent them from skipping ahead to places where they could be used to disrupt the game. They must play to level 10 before leaving the starter zones, to level 30 before using LFG, and to level 60 before using World vs. World. They can play PvP immediately but must get to rank 20 before using custom and unranked arenas."

Given my experience with GW2, I'd probably recommend just buying the expansion. The extra character and bag slots are worth the $50 price. Purchasing the expansion also gets players into the beta (which runs on the live servers), but that's not the draw for me. Guild Wars 2 is the opposite of EVE. I don't need to pay that much attention or strain my brain after a long day at work. Who knows? Since the game is a PvE themepark, maybe I'll even stream my game play.

The Rabbit Hole: Why Is RMT Bad?

Over the past 2-3 years, I wrote thousands of words concerning the subject of real money trading in MMORPGs, mainly in EVE Online.  I attempted to write a comprehensive post on the subject of RMT on a few occasions in the past, but much like Lewis Carroll's Alice, I always find myself distracted as I venture down the rabbit hole into the world inhabited by botters, hackers, and gold sellers.  So, instead of a comprehensive work, I decided to write about the subject on Tuesdays.

This initial post in the series will address a topic I have never addressed directly before: why RMT is bad.  But first, I must define the term real money trading.  At the end of 2013, I defined RMT as, at its most basic level, the exchange of virtual goods, including in-game currency, and services for real world currency.  I then, relying on the work of two researchers from the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, divided real money trading into a primary and secondary market.

Predictions For 2015

The end of the year is upon us.  Time to once again fulfill the requirement to look back at the year past and fearlessly gaze into the future.  That's right, time to see just how badly I did on my predictions for 2014 and make a fool of myself looking ahead to 2015.

First, how did I do in 2014?

The Subscription Model Is Not Dead Yet - I predicted that both Wildstar and Elder Scrolls Online would remain subscription games until the end of 2014.  I was correct on both points.  I didn't make the prediction that ESO would make an announcement would go free-to-play in the first half of 2015, which proved that discretion is the better part of valor.  I'll come back to this in my predictions for 2015.

PLEX-Type Systems Mixed Reception - With as much as I write about RMT, my predictions were spot on, right?  Yeah, right.  All my predictions were wrong.  I predicted that Jagex would announce that bonds would not have the desired effect on RMT within Runescape in 2014.  Wrong!  And that's a good thing.

What about Wildstar's C.R.E.D.D.?  I predicted that Carbine would trumpet some success concerning their PLEX-like object.  That didn't happen, at least to my knowledge.  I also predicted that a MMO in development would would announce it was developing their own version of a subscription plus PLEX model in the last quarter of 2014.  I was close, but World of Warcraft doesn't count.

Finally, what about my prediction for EVE of a final PLEX price of 660 million ISK?  Ha!  On Saturday, the average price sold in Jita was 782 million ISK.  Unless the prices drops through the floor, I'll count that prediction as a fail.

World of Warcraft Does Well, But... - Okay, I got most of my WoW predictions wrong.  I predicted that WoW would get back up to the 9 to 10 million subscription mark based on 2.4 million copies of Warlords of Draenor sold in the first week of release.  Instead, players flocked back to Azeroth and the expansion sold 3.3 million copies the first day and the number of subscriptions exceeded 10 million for the first time in three years.

I did, however, get the major hacking attack in 2014 prediction correct.  I'm not even referring to the major DDoS attack that occurred at the launch of Warlords of Draenor.  A trojan was released at the beginning of January that allowed hackers to bypass the WoW authenticator.  But as far as I know, Blizzard did pretty well the rest of the year, aside from the DDoS attacks that plagued the entire MMORPG industry.

Guild Wars 2 Expansion - I got my prediction correct about ArenaNet not publishing an expansion in 2014.  However, I failed on the announcement for an expansion for 2015.

CCP - Unfortunately, reality was worse for the Icelandic game company than I predicted, and I did not predict a good year.  While CCP is a private company and no longer releases subscription numbers, I am going to consider my prediction of a subscription loss in EVE Online in 2014 as coming true.  I also predicted that CCP would not release a "Jesus feature" in 2014, and I do not consider Thera to qualify as such.

I predicted that DUST 514 would not close in 2014, and at Fanfest that appeared seriously in doubt.  I was correct again with the prediction that DUST would not break the 7,000 PCU mark, and the game never came close.  I also predicted that CCP would not announce that they planned to migrate the game to the PS4.  Correct again.  I also predicted layoffs in the Shanghai office.  Unfortunately, I got that prediction correct, although just about every CCP office outside Newcastle suffered layoffs in 2014.

Finally, my predictions about Valkyrie didn't come true, but not because of CCP.  The Oculus Rift was not released to the general public in 2014.  I still think that CCP will have Valkyrie ready for release when Oculus Rift is ready for release.

Star Citizen - I made three predictions about Star Citizen in 2014, all of which turned out wrong.  The first was that Star Citizen would reach the $65 million mark in funds raised from players.  That amount was surpassed, with the total as of Sunday at $68.3 million.  No major RMT scandal interrupted the cash flow, although stories about Star Citizen's grey market did emerge throughout the year.  I also predicted that CIG would announce a release date for the full game for the second half of 2015.  Instead, 2016 was announced.

Biggest Surprise - My final prediction concerned Landmark.  I really thought the game would emerge as the surprise hit of 2014.  Although the game, from what I saw from tweeted screenshots from the devs, is beautiful and players in the beta can produce amazing things, the game never took off with the general public.  Then again, I expected the game to launch in 2014.  Instead, the last patch of the year introduced PvE, turning the game from a strictly building game like Minecraft into a more MMORPG sandbox builder.  Perhaps in 2015 Landmark will get some well deserved recognition.

I counted 22 predictions in the above, and I only got ten correct.  Nostradamus I am not.  But that won't stop me from making some predictions for 2015.  Here goes.

World of Warcraft RMT - One of the biggest stories of 2015 is whether Blizzard carries through with plans to introduce a PLEX-type instrument to the game.  I predict that WoW will see PLEX introduced in either Q2 or Q3, and that the price of illicit WoW gold will decline by 25% by the end of the year.  As a way to measure the progress, I will track gold prices for the Horde on the Earthen Ring realm.  For those unfamiliar with gaming podcasts, that is the home of the Alea Iacta Est guild associated with The Instance podcast.  If AIE sounds familar, their EVE offshoot, AIEU, is a member of the Brave Collective.

Currently, the low price for 30 thousand gold pieces on Earthen Ring found on Player Auctions is $17.38, with the median price offered at $21.71.  I'm predicting that will decrease to $13.04 and $16.28 respectively.

Guild Wars 2 Expansion Plans - One would think that after three years, Guild Wars 2 deserves an expansion.  However, don't expect one in 2015.  However, I don't see how ArenaNet avoids announcing an expansion for the first half of 2016 sometime during the upcoming year.

Elder Scrolls Online Goes B2P - I am predicting that Zenimax will announce that ESO will go buy-to-play in 2015.  With the game launching on consoles sometime during 2015, I think that Zenimax will want to have the same pricing structure for both PC and console gamers.  I don't think that console gamers will accept the subscription model, so I think the PC game will change.  I'd suspect the change will occur during Q2.

Wildstar Remains A Subscription Game - Perhaps the craziest prediction in this post, but I don't see Wildstar going either free-to-play or buy-to-play in 2015.  That would require NCSoft to cough up money for the conversion to begin.  While the Aion conversion to F2P went well, NCSoft is the company that cancelled Tabula Rasa after 16 months.  Then again, I don't think Wildstar will close its doors due to the news that Giant Interactive plans to publish the game in China in late 2015 or early 2016.  I get the feeling that converting the game for the Chinese market will take precedence over doing a F2P conversion for the West.  The Western market will probably see the F2P conversion sometime in 2016, so an announcement to F2P is possible sometime in 2015.

CCP Stops The Bleeding - I won't predict that CCP will have a banner year, but after 2013-2014, next year will look rather good.  On the financial side, players will get their hands on CCP's 2014 financial report and discover that the company did better in the second half of the year than the first.  Then, our enterprising players will get their hands on the mid-year report and see that CCP made a profit for the first half of 2015.  I also predict that CCP will remain a privately-held company.  No IPO in 2015.

Next, EVE Online will basically finish 2015 with the same activity levels as 2014.  I predict that the average concurrent user mark for the week of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday in 2015 (23-29 November) will slightly exceed the ACU for this Thanksgiving week.  That number, as recorded on EVE-Offline.net, was 25,734.  I expect the number to fall between 26,000 and 27,000.

EVE may also receive a "Jesus feature" in 2015, depending on the definition of the term.  No, not player-built stargates.  Look for a shake-up of the incursion system, with Sansha's Nation either partially or totally replaced by Sleepers.

On the planetary side of New Eden, DUST will not sunset in 2015.  However, expect CCP to announce that Project Legion will launch a beta version with active DUST players receiving invites either in Q4 2015 or Q1 2016.

The only prediction I'll make on Valkyrie is that if Oculus Rift is ready for mass sales in 2015 that CCP will have a game to ship along with the VR headset.  Expect a Metacritic score of 85, plus or minus 3.

One last prediction for CCP.  No layoffs.

2015 Will Have Better New Games Than 2014 - At the beginning of 2014, 2015 looked like a quiet year for MMORPG releases.  Then ESO, Wildstar, and ArcheAge launched.  Now those small little games may outshine this year's big money AAA games.  Let me give five games that I believe may break out in 2015.  For prediction purposes, these games will all at least hit open beta, if not launch, in 2015.  Also for prediction purposes, these are all games that will get good reviews.

Landmark - My pick for surprise game of 2014, I really think once this SOE F2P game hits open beta that word of mouth will make the game fairly popular.  The game is currently available on Steam Early Access.

Shroud of the Avatar - Okay, I'm more of a science fiction guy, but I'm interested in this Richard Garriott effort.  But will the game reflect the Ultima Online Richard Garriott or the Tabula Rasa Richard Garriott?  I'm predicting the UO version.  While I probably won't have time to play, the game is available on Steam Early Access.

The Repopulation - Another science fiction sandbox game?  The game is available on Steam Early Access and I seriously considered purchasing the game the minute I laid eyes on it.  The game is just finishing alpha and I hope it officially launches in 2015, which makes that a prediction made with my heart, not my head.  I think that the game will fill a bit of a niche and receive some nice reviews.

Skyforge - After Wildstar, I'm not so sure about theme park sci-fi MMORPGs.  But I am going to keep my eye on this game.  I'll make the prediction the game gets a better Metacritic score than Wildstar.  The game currently is not on Steam.

H1Z1 - I'm not sure the zombie survival game qualifies as an MMORPG, but I'll predict that when the game finally emerges that critics will compare it favorably to DayZ.  While I don't play first person shooters, this is a game I'll follow with interest.  Also, I hear SOE plans to make the game available on Steam Early Access in January.

That's my list of predictions for 2015.  I'm sure someone will point out how crazy I am.  Then again, seeing how I did in 2014, my predictions are pretty much wild guesses.

The Trend Against Multiboxing Software

While I was following the forum posting of the CSM earlier this week, I ran into another thread on the EVE Online forums asking for the banning of ISBoxer from EVE.  Instead of arguing the pros and cons of multiboxing software, though, I just want to point out the growing trend of game companies making decisions that are unfriendly, if not downright hostile, to those who wish to use multiboxing software like ISBoxer in games.

Levels vs Skills

Over the weekend, I decided to create a new character in Wildstar.  Not because I needed another crafter to complement my first character or act as a mule.  No, because my first character, and Exile engineer, just didn't feel right.  I'd hit level 15 and about to do the quests in Thayd when I realized I didn't want to be a tank and the Exile story was getting pretty stale.  So I created a Dominion medic and began the game again from level 1.  Last night I hit level 5 and the story, for now, is much better.

Rerolling a new character because I don't like my original class isn't something new for me.  In EverQuest 2, I originally created a paladin before switching my main to a ranger.  Guild Wars 2 saw me create a thief before rerolling as a ranger.  Alright, I like ranged DPS.  What can I say?

Rerolling isn't so bad when the original characters are below level 20.  But in Star Wars: The Old Republic, I wound up rerolling after my smuggler reached level 37 because the story turned so bad.  That, more than any bugs or lag, killed the game for me. 

Of course, EVE Online doesn't have levels.  In EVE, a character is defined by its skills, not its class. So if I want to do something else, like fly Gallente ships instead of Minmatar, I don't have to create a Gallente character; I just start learning the skills to fly Gallente ships.  The same holds true for crafting.  My industrial character can theoretically make anything once she learns the skills, although some things are better, and more easily, made with friends.  No armorer or weaponsmith crafting classes in EVE.  And I only have an industrial character because EVE allows me to train characters on multiple accounts at the same time, even when I'm not logged into the game on any of the accounts.  But that's a discussion for another post.

The skill-based system does have some benefits over the level-based one found in most MMOs.  For instance, because learning new skills on an existing character or new character is basically the same, players will create fewer characters.  Fewer characters created not only means fewer characters for the game to track, but less names used.  Anyone remember the uproar when Wildstar's name reservation system didn't work quite right?  Names are important to many players and the fewer good names on characters who never play the game, the better.

But for me, the biggest benefit is that some of the core skills I learned, like Engineering, Navigation, and Mechanics, are good for anything I wish to do.  Even Accounting comes in handy for players changing from a trading style of play to PvP.  Paying less in taxes when selling items is always a good thing.  So if I want to change the type of ship I fly, or even my style of play, I don't have to start from scratch, which I have to do in a level-based system.

Don't misunderstand, a skill-based system doesn't automatically mean a game is so good I'll play for 5 years like I have EVE.  While I enjoyed my time in The Secret World, another skill-based game, I never reached Egypt.  And the fact that I'm playing Wildstar shows that level-based systems won't deter me from playing a game if the game looks interesting.  But I do wish that I had more skill-based games to look at and possibly play.

Predictions For 2014

We are at the end of another year.  A time to look back and a time to look ahead.  When the subject is what I am doing in EVE Online my year doesn't coincide with the calendar.  But for everything else I pretty much stick to the calendar of this ball of dirt we call home.  Since this is the time for bloggers to make predictions about things that won't come true, I'll do my part and come up with some prognostications for the upcoming year.

The Subscription Model Is Not Dead Yet - I predict that both Wildstar and Elder Scrolls Online will remain subscription games throughout 2014.  However, the possibility exists that sometime in November or December that ESO could announce a change to a free-to-play model will occur sometime in the first half of 2015.  If I had the courage of my convictions I'd make it a prediction, but I'll chicken out this time.  Well, at least about the announcement.

PLEX-Type Systems Mixed Reception - I think that the news about companies attempting to duplicate CCP's success with PLEX will be mixed in 2014.  I expect Jagex to come out and state that, despite some over-hyped news in 2013, that bonds have not had the desired results and that new systems are needed to deal with Runescape's bot and illicit RMT problem.  On the other hand, after a rocky start, Carbine will announce some success with its C.R.E.D.D. system.  The financial figures will speak for themselves and another AAA MMO in development will announce going to a sub plus PLEX system sometime in the last quarter of 2014.

For EVE Online players, I'll predict that the Jita price for PLEX will make 1 billion ISK worth $26.50.  That is 660 million ISK for a PLEX using in-game currency.

World of Warcraft Does Well, But... - Yes, when making a post about predictions about MMORPGs I do have to include World of Warcraft.  I think that WoW will experience a year that all other game companies would envy.  I think that we will see the new Warlords of Draenor expansion sell 2.4 million copies in the first week and the number of subscribers hit between 9 and 10 million.  Of course, these numbers will have critics exclaiming that WoW is dying and on its last legs.

The expansion will foster controversy with the new offerings in WoW's cash shop.  I don't know what the nature of the controversy will involve, but I expect a backlash from some of the veteran players stating that WoW has gone pay-to-win.

Also, I do expect WoW to suffer another major hacking attack in 2014.  Of course, given WoW's history, the brave prediction is to predict such a security breach would not occur.

Guild Wars 2 Expansion - ArenaNet was pretty firm in 2013 about not needing an expansion for Guild Wars 2.  I think they will stay true to that and not publish an expansion in 2014.  However, I do expect ArenaNet to announce this summer an expansion in the first half of 2015 to coincide with the end of 2014's Living Story.

CCP - I expect that 2014 will prove a bad year for the Icelandic game company.  The number of subscriptions for its flagship game EVE Online will decline for the first time in the game's history (assuming that the number of accounts did not decline in 2013).  CCP will continue to resist pressure to release a "Jesus feature" in 2014, waiting until 2015. 

DUST 514 will continue to limp along throughout 2014.  However, the game will not break the 7,000 concurrent user mark unless CCP stages some sort of marketing event at one of the trade shows like E3.  With a less than expected rush to play, I expect no conversion announcement from the PS3 to the PS4 and layoffs in the Shanghai office at the end of 2014.

The one bright spot is EVE: Valkyrie.  CCP will have the game ready to ship at the time that the Oculus Rift is ready to ship to the public.  The game will receive high marks from players, but the good news is offset by the low penetration of the Oculus Rift into the gaming market.  Also, don't expect the Oculus Rift to release before the fourth quarter.

Star Citizen -  I'm not sure the game actually qualifies as an MMORPG, but I have three predictions.  The first is that the game will reach the $65 million mark in funds gathered in 2014  I would name a higher number but I also predict a major story about the RMT scene surrounding the game will make its rounds amongst the mainstream gaming press and that will depress the donation numbers.  Finally, I predict that during 2014 that Chris Roberts will announce a launch date in the second half of 2015.

Biggest Surprise - I think EverQuest Next Landmark will break out as the big surprise game of 2014.  I know that Landmark is developed by SOE, but given that no one even conceived of the possibility of the game until August 2013 I would rate a successful year a surprise.  Given the popularity of Minecraft, Landmark will emerge as the building game with the best graphics.  I think that could make Landmark a very popular game indeed.

I will make more predictions tomorrow as part of the final Digital Dozen roundup for 2013.  I should add that I hope I am wrong about the negative predictions I made in this post.  I just have the feeling that the gaming industry will not see calm seas in 2014.

Iceland, The Gold Standard For MMOs

Over the past year or so Blizzard and World of Warcraft have lost a bit of luster as the ideal for game development.  So many studio's efforts have dashed against the rocks trying to be the WoW-killer that developers are beginning to try something else.  But what?  A game that has grown every year for the past 10 years really sounds attractive as a model.

Sandbox > Lockbox

Even though I'm hard at work gathering metrics on how I play EVE Online, I still found a little time to download and start playing Neverwinter.  While I'm still only level 11, I've managed to pick up two Nightmare Lockboxes.  These boxes contain 10 Tarmalune Trade Bars (whatever those are) plus a random item.  A random item?  I went to the Zen Market, the Neverwinter cash shop, and sure enough keys are available for purchase with real money.

Paying real life money for random items?  What kind of madness is that?  Apparently one that is going around as I first encountered the trick when playing Guild Wars 2 and the keys for the Black Lion chests.  Sure, the keys do appear in game, but not nearly as often as the chests.  I watch GuildCast on Gamebreaker TV and was amused at some of the stories of people buying lots of keys trying to get a particular drop.

Surfing the net landed me at the Ancient Gaming Noob and even more games that have gone the lockbox route.  Everquest 2 and Star Trek Online both hopped on the lockbox train.  EQ2?  That's the game where I first gambled, paying the Gigglegibber goblin on the docks silver for tickets while waiting for ships to dock to carry me to distant lands.  Now the trend appears to have players spending real life money trying to win internet pixel prizes.

Perhaps I'm biased but I prefer the EVE Online model where the players, not the game developer, acts as the house.   Amidst all of the intrigue and player theft that EVE is known for has developed a healthy (or unhealthy depending on your moral views) gambling culture.  For those interested in lotteries SOMERblink is perhaps the most well-known having given out over 750 trillion ISK in cash and prizes throughout the years.  Those interested in using their in-game currency to play poker can head over to EVE Online Hold'em where players have wagered over 175 trillion ISK since the fall of 2007.  Players don't have to go to the big sites to play as EVE Radio DJs frequently run lotteries or other contests for cash and prizes.

Gambling in CCP's New Eden universe also extends to eSports.  Sure, EVE is not a player in the professional eSports scene, but that doesn't stop players from betting on PvP competitions such as the CCP-run Alliance Tournament or the monthly tournaments run by the Syndicate Competitive League.  I don't have links to those running betting pools on the tournaments but I did see mention of it while watching the latest SCL tournament over the weekend.  One of the more amusing things is that SOMERblink has sponsored both the SCL tournaments but also the last CCP-run tournament, The New Eden Open.  Think of the meta for that for a moment.  A player-run gambling house sponsoring events that players will gamble on.  What a concept!

The amazing thing in light of all of the lockbox shenanigans going on in other games is that CCP isn't really involved with the whole gambling scene.  I won't try to tell anyone that CCP doesn't make some money off gambling as players can purchase PLEX and convert them into gambling stakes.  But for the most part CCP's main involvement is ensuring that any gambling organization is not a front for RMT sites looking to launder money and goods.  Well, and hosting or helping to host tournaments.  But all things considered I'd rather see the type of environment that CCP has created than the lockbox mentality that has captured the imagination of so many other game companies.

Mouse Without Borders

Yesterday I received a nasty little surprise about a piece of software I was using, Input Director.  The freeware allows a user to use one mouse and keyboard to operate two or more computers.  I started using it long ago and found it worked better than Synergy.  Input Director only has one slight problem that TurAmarth ElRandir brought up: it has the ability to duplicate keystrokes onto multiple computers.  Worse, Input Director has the ability to create macros up to 256 characters long.  Yikes!

An In-Game Break

I don't know what it is about this time of year but my attention wanders from actually logging into Eve a little.  Back in 2011 I jumped into the Rift beta and played for a month or two before determining I was sick of elves.  Last year I spent January playing way too much Star Wars: The Old Republic and didn't really get the thrill back for playing Eve until I got to Fanfest.  This year I've pretty much only logged in to set my skill queues for the last two weeks. 

Am I disgruntled with the Eve?  A little bit.  The whole "macros are legal after all for a class of players" thing pisses me off.   I normally don't get upset with people making lots of money.  If someone can figure out how to do it within the rules, more power to them.  I just question whether clicking on one button that allows me to perform hundreds of tasks in game really follows the spirit of Eve.  If I wanted that type of game play I would have stayed in World of Warcraft where players using mods to enhance their abilities is an accepted practice.  Let's just say right now anyone who uses these macros and then complains about market bots gets no sympathy from me.

So while I cool off I'm playing Guild Wars 2 and The Secret World.  I think my time in GW2 is drawing to a close as I reached level 78 last night.  I finally got my leatherworking over 225 so I no longer have to farm mobs for cotton.  I also have my jewelry skill over 250 so I have a new set of recipes to learn and my only hold up is mining gems.  I need to get to 400 in each to max out those professions.  And I am progressing nicely in my personal story but haven't reached the level 70-80 quests in that chain yet.  I only have 26% of the map explored and haven't tried PvP yet but the game doesn't interest me enough to start up a new alt or try to grind up for a legendary weapon.  At least not right now.

The Secret's World continues to amaze every time I put on my headphones.  The sounds are just amazing.  I paid $30 for the game and I think I'm getting my money's worth.  I've played close to 100 hours now and I'm just finishing up The Savage Coast.  I did do the "Strangers from a Strange Land" mission that led me into the Blue Mountain zone where I ran into two ravens, Muninn and Huginn.  Before CCP created tech 2 cruisers Norse mythology had two ravens that sat on Odin's shoulders.  I'm working on the Slayer deck but right now I'm beginning to doubt whether I want to play that.  I think the decks are like Eve's certificates.  They are a guide to what works for those who don't want to theory craft.  Unlike Eve, however, each deck comes with a set of clothes once you learn all the skills.  I might start learning some more weapons than sword and assault rifle.  Right now I can wield the Q7 level of both weapons.

Just because I'm playing other games doesn't mean I'm not covering the shenanigans in Eve.  I finished listening to Ripard Teg's interview with Xander on Crossing Zebras and only have three more interviews to listen to.  And of course I will have a bit more to say about the whole market macro situation.  But for now I'm going to run about on virtual dirtballs for a little while longer.

A Guilty Pleasure

I currently play three games, Eve Online, The Secret World and Guild Wars 2.  Which of these games is not like the other?  I would say Guild Wars 2. 

Eve Online is the famously niche sandbox skill-based PvP sci-fi game that, inexplicably to those who don't play the game, not only refuses to die but is still growing almost 10 years later.  The learning curve is considered extreme and in order to continue growth CCP is attempting to lessen the curve while keeping the complexity.  The game that seemingly never ends, Eve Online's real-time skill system takes years and years to learn all the skills offered.  As for content, the real content are the players themselves and the way they use the sandbox.  The game only ends when a player becomes tired and moves on.

The Secret World is another niche game, but this time of the PvE variety.  Set in a parallel modern world where all conspiracies are true, this horror-influenced MMORPG is also skill-based and while clearly a theme-park game I haven't figured out the order a player is supposed to go in once hitting a zone.  Of course, after about 60 hours of play I'm still on Solomon Island so I'm getting the most out of my purchase price.  Like Eve, once skill points are spent in The Secret World there are no resets.  Also, the game is hard at times.  Not Eve Online learning curve hard.  Just hard getting through some of the obstacles.  But getting through those obstacles gives a sense of accomplishment.  For instance, figuring out the morse code mission the way I did made me feel really smart.  And when I finally defeated The Boogy Man in the amusement park after the 15th attempt I cheered out loud.  Sure, these events don't compare to the thrill and adrenaline rush of PvP combat in Eve, but I love them anyway.

That leaves Guild Wars 2, which I consider a guilty pleasure.  Why?  The game is pretty much a theme park that I really haven't found that challenging once I switched to playing a ranger.  I die a lot sometimes but I pretty much brush it aside.  And leveling is easy.  While I was writing the series about the Eve News 24 botting expose I would go into Guild Wars 2 and just kill things as a break.  I decided I needed cotton scraps to level my leatherworking so I decided to walk from Lion's Gate to Blazeridge Steppes because I heard of a good farming spot.  I started out as a level 62 ranger and five hours and three game sessions later I was level 67 and I don't think I ever ran into a mob that was higher than level 50 along the way.  While the game lowered my effective level while traveling through the lower zones, I received a lot of level 60+ drops along the way.  These are really clever game mechanics designed to allow higher level players to play with their lower level friends.  They also made the trip worthwhile.

So while I'm in low-sec in Eve Online probing down sites avoiding the faction warfare militias and facing complex puzzles in The Secret World, I can always go to Guild Wars 2 and relax by doing some farming.  Farming I have to do by grinding mobs.  But that kind of mindless game play does have a place as a change of pace.

Tis The Season To Exploit And Bot

A lot of people see Eve Online as a game filled with bad people who do bad things.  When thinking of these evil acts people look at things like scamming and unconsensual PvP.  Regular readers of my blog know I define actions a little differently.  I look at things like botting, 3rd party RMT and exploits as the really bad acts.  Looking at the first days of 2013 shows evidence that bad people don't just play Eve.

The first example comes from The Secret World.  Funcom held a Mayan zombie apocalypse event to celebrate the move to a buy-to-play model and the coming end of the world.  As part of the event the top 1000 scoring players would receive a title and the top 100 would receive an in-game pet.  On 7 January that planned changed due to some players discovering a way to "exploit the mechanics and reach impossible amounts of points which in turn alters the rankings to unrealistic results."  In this example of players exploiting game mechanics all that was at stake were some titles and pets.  Funcom resolved the situation by giving all players the title and pet.

A more serious situation arose during Guild Wars 2's Wintersday holiday event.  On 3 January Massively described the exploit.

"Players were able to use a single high-level snowflake, a Black Lion salvage kit, and a bit of metal to generate effectively limitless globs of ectoplasm (which are kind of a cornerstone of the economy, as they're used in the majority of high-end items). The exploit was closed, but not before an apparently large number of people took advantage of it."

Many players are upset with the permanent bans issued by ArenaNet but this is not the first big exploit encountered in the game.  Back in August over 3,000 players were permanently banned for using an exploit for crafting high-level weapons “one thousandth of their normal price.”  ArenaNet relented and reduced many of the bans down to 72 hours but apparently the event did not deter many from taking similar actions over the holidays.

In the wake of major botting problems in addition to the previous exploit ArenaNet is taking a hard line with violators.  ArenaNet Support Liason Gaile Gray issued the following statement on the GW2 forums:

"I’ve seen the numbers, and the damage to the economy could have been substantial, if the exploit wasn’t closed down and if these people were allowed to use their ill-gotten gains. People whose accounts were terminated were the worst offenders. I’m talking a lot of ill-gotten gains that posed a significant potential impact on the economy.

"Any time you take one thing and can make two, and then four, and then sixteen… ya gotta know that’s just wrong. (I won’t quibble on the odds, but overall, that form of doubling was not outside the realm of possibility.) And to perform that action hundreds and hundreds of times? That’s call 'exploitation,' and that’s against the User Agreement, the Rules of Conduct, and all that is holy.

"I know the OP will disagree. But we’ve been more than kind, in the past, and everyone needs to own up to his/her errors and recognize: We all are part of the game economy, and those who exploit it are hurting the rest of us.

"Exploit closed.
"Worst offenders terminated.
"That’s what has to happen to make things right for all of us."

Another company taking a hard-line with exploiters and botters is Sony Online Entertainment in its new MMOFPS Planetside 2.  SOE CEO John Smedley had already declared war on cheaters using aimbots and other hacks.  Yesterday morning a patch was finally released that fixed the Sunderer crash exploit.  Apparently while SOE staff took some time off during the holidays the hackers ran wild, causing players to disconnect within certain areas.  Now that the development staff is back in the office, Planetside 2 Creative Director Matt Higby tweeted “As a side note, we have log evidence for players who were causing it and will be banning.”

Finally, another company that let its guard down during the holidays was Trion.  Included in yesterday's RIFT 2.1 Hotfix 2 patch notes was this introduction:

"While we were out for the holidays, there was a marked rise in both fishing and onslaught farming bots. We know that the vast majority of you are responsible, upstanding, and incredibly attractive Telaran citizens, but we do need to take a moment to remind everyone that automating play is a violation of the terms of service that will be acted upon.

"As of today, we’ve already shut down a few thousand accounts over the recent rise in fishing botting, and we’ve begun removing gains from others in places of extreme bot use. A good number of these botters were brought in, as is often the case, on stolen credit cards and fraudulent Rift purchases.

"That said, some folks do innocently use keyboard-assistance software while they’re at their computer. We’ve gone out of our way to make sure that differently-abled gamers are able to use the assist software that they need.

"Unfortunately, for the next week or two, until the bot situation gets back under control, use of this software may intentionally be randomly unreliable, up to causing random disconnects. We ask that you please refrain from using keyboard automation software in the meanwhile."

For those new to the dark underworld of MMORPGs, the references to stolen credit cards and fraudulent game purchases indicates that Trion busted a lot of gold farmers and/or bot accounts utilizing botting software.  The fact that the developers needed to state they need weeks to solve the situation and that those with physical ailments are affected point to some of the negative side effects that people just don't think about when discussing the subject of botting and illicit RMT.

One principle that I see when looking at botting and the illicit RMT business not just in Eve Online but in all games is that as long as players are willing to break the rules that the underworld will thrive.  This past Christmas season showed that RMTers have a lot of fertile ground to worth in.

Christmas In My Virtual Worlds

I'm not a big fan of Christmas appearing in my video games.  Unless I absolutely stumble across the events in-game I don't take part.  Okay, that's not quite true.  If the event drops crafting items and I can make special items then I'm interested.  But if a game doesn't have holiday events I'm not upset.

In 2012 I played four MMORPGs and purchased three of them this year.  So this being the Christmas season I thought I'd just take a quick tour of the games I've played, Eve Online, Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic and The Secret World.

Going slightly out of order, I think that fantasy games have the easiest time of incorporating Christmas into their lore.  Humans have instituted celebrations around the winter solstice since pre-historic times so having some sort of celebration in-game makes sense.  Also, unless the game uses an established IP like Lord of the Rings Online, the developers have the freedom to establish their own lore.  In this tradition Guild Wars 2's Wintersday fits right in.

I'm not sure how immersion breaking Wintersday is hardcore GW2 players but it does seem an out of the way bit of fun as Lion's Arch is transformed into a winter wonderland.  Okay, maybe not that idyllic, but I think the place looks prettier.

Entering Lion's Arch

GW2 does have a substantial cash shop and ArenaNet has populated the store with holiday product for those interested.  I actually don't plan on buying anything although the ear-muffs are pretty cute.  The interface does allow players to preview what their purchases look like on their characters which is nice.  While I'm not interested in the weapons skins available for sale I am intrigued by the crafted skins I can make.  Turn my short bow into a sling shot?  Who could resist.

I should also add that even though ArenaNet has a cash shop the company has also given out gifts this Wintersday.  The one I really like is the 15-slot gift box.  Even though I'm level 52 and am a leatherworker I still had an 8-slot bag.  Seven extra slots means I can use the materials I gather for leveling instead of for adding more carrying capacity.

Moving away from fantasy, next on my list is Funcom's The Secret World.  If any game is going to portray Christmas as a holiday in-game, The Secret World is the mostly likely candidate.  Set in an alternative universe where all conspiracies are real, I saw no sign of the holiday even in the cash shop.  That doesn't mean that Funcom didn't put anything in players' Christmas stockings.  Given that TSW also falls into the horror genre, what better gift could Funcom give players that a portrayal of the Mayan prediction of the end of the world?  And since the Mayans were not too specific, Funcom took the liberty to make it a zombie apocalypse.  A zombie apocalypse?  What better gift could players receive for Christmas than that?

Next I jump 22,000 years into the future into my main game, Eve Online.  Icelandic developer CCP sticks to the lore and since Earth is just a vaguely remembered myth no official Christmas, or any holiday celebration for players.  Of course, Eve being Eve the players usually organize events here and there, holding Secret Santas and such.  But CCP also gives out presents during the season.  This year the developers have incorporated an Icelandic tradition, the "Yule Lads", to get players into the holiday spirit.


So far on my two main accounts I've received 2 Inner Zone Shipping Imicus faction exploration frigates, a set of Genolution Core Augmentation implants, 7 New Eden Open trading cards and perhaps most importantly, 2 Festival Launchers and 1200 snowballs.  CCP actually provided players a second set of snowballs due to all the fun everyone had launching snowballs at each other.  We still are due to receive a set of fireworks on the 30th to use to kick-off the new year.  They should add some sparkle to the light shows players usually organize around New Year's Eve.

The last MMORPG I played this year also takes place in a galaxy far, far away.  I have to give credit to EA/Bioware for not putting an in-game holiday event into the game.  The developers promised not to violate the IP like that and they kept their word.  Well, for free anyway.  But look in the cash shop and one finds this mount.

Czerka LD-1 Celebrator - From DarthHater.com

That's right, a snowblower with Christmas lights on it.  Did I mention the price is $18?  The other items for the Wookie holiday Life Day had what I thought was a Star Wars feel.  But this mount?  Ugh.

When the subject is what is in the cash shop, EA/Bioware is doing the same thing as ArenaNet is doing.  Both GW2 and SW:TOR have a lot of holiday items for sale.  The difference is what the two companies are giving their players.  GW2 players do get a bunch of gifts to go along with all the items in the cash shop.  SW:TOR players, even subscribers, receive nothing.  EA/Bioware should have either followed GW2's lead or should have followed Funcom's practice in The Secret World of just ignoring the holiday season altogether.

I never thought that holiday events, and especially Christmas, would influence what games I play.  I've played MMORPGs for seven years and this is the first time I've felt differently.  I still want to play SW:TOR and this little money grab won't deter me from eventually returning.  The one thing holding me back was eliminated with the raising of the character slot limit for F2P players from two to six.  But I probably will wait until I've completed The Secret World now since that game is not only engaging but the Funcom actually seems to like their player base.  EA/Bioware?  I'm not so sure.

Holding Pattern

I have to admit I am in a bit of a holding pattern where Eve Online is concerned.  With the Retribution expansion less than a week away I don't feel like doing much in the game.  My favorite combat ship the Hurricane.  Getting nerfed.  I can finally fly the Drake.  Heavy missiles getting nerfed.  Courier missions in low-sec?  With the changes to Crimewatch that's about to become more dangerous as well.  If carebears were afraid of traveling in low-sec before, I think they'll really have a reason to fear now.  I don't want to develop bad habits.  I want to get into the proper mindset before the changes come along.

I guess I could log onto the Buckingham test server and do some theory crafting, but I'm doing a lot of that in real life right now and I just want some mindless fun.  Since Retribution will involve changing the way I think inside Eve I'm spending a lot of time in Guild Wars 2.  I always find that when I play another MMO and then switch back to Eve I need to make mental adjustments.  Since Retribution involves making mental adjustments anyway I might as well get GW2 out of my system before the expansion hits.

I do have to admit that once I hit the part of the personal story where I joined the Order of Whispers I started liking the game more.  A couple of days ago I bemoaned the voice acting in GW2 that led me to choose to play a female human.  But the combination of my red-headed ranger and the char engineer Lightbringer Tybalt Leftpaw is just so, well, cute, that I'm changing my mind and deciding that everything is turning out for the best after all.

As for Star Wars: The Old Republic?  I don't think I'm going to continue that game.  One, I really can't imagine playing three MMOs at once and two, the combat in GW2 is just better.  I was using a long bow with the axe/war horn combination and switched out the long bow for the short bow.  Combat became a lot more fun as I'm moving around trying to get flanking positions.  The short bow is good for single targets, the axe is good for multiple targets and the war horn has a skill, Hunter's Call, that reminds me of the EverQuest 2 ranger ability Hawk Attack, except better.

Hopefully I'll snap out of the funk this weekend and become motivated after watching the last weekend of the New Eden Open.  With fewer matches I expect to see CCP to use the opportunity to showcase the changes to Retribution.  Of course, watching the Own3d.tv stream means I won't be logged onto Tranquility, but I can't have everything.

Bad Voice Acting Made Me Do It

This weekend I didn't spend much time in Eve.  Most of my Eve time was spent watching the New Eden Open, listening to Arydanika's interview of CCP Fozzie on Voices from the Void #60 or doing a research project.  So when I logged into games this weekend, I chose Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Guild Wars 2 isn't a stretch because I've been playing the ArenaNet game for a few hours a week but I logged into SW:TOR to see if the free-to-play implementation is as bad as I've heard.  One thing they both have in common is some bad voice acting.

Why is the voice acting important?  Because I wound up playing female characters in both.  Now, I do have a history of playing female characters.  In EverQuest 2 I played a female wood elf because I really wanted to play a wood elf ranger.  But when I rolled a male wood elf, the character looked so much like a female that I decided to just go ahead and roll a female character.  When I went back to take a look at World of Warcraft, I rolled blood elf females because they looked like they could easily beat up their metrosexual male counterparts.  At least in Eve Online I didn't create a female pilot because of the way the men looked.  I was creating a CEO for my personal corporation and since the lore states that Vherokior women are very good at business I decided to go that route.

I really wanted to play a male Imperial Agent in SW:TOR.  The thought of the whole cold blooded secret agent with a British accent concept is really appealing.  Too bad that when I played a male Imperial Agent before the game became free-to-play that the actor's voice just drove me crazy.  He sounds like a giant prick.  So I currently have a level 3 female Imperial Agent with a voice that sounds the way I think a secret agent should sound.  The actress who does the voice, Jo Wyatt, also does the voice for the female Hawke in Dragon Age 2.  Maybe I should pick up that game instead of continuing with SW:TOR.

Speaking of bad voice acting, I just have to say that Guild Wars 2, while a game I'm enjoying, does have some really bad voice acting.  I deleted the first character I rolled, a male Asura Engineer, because I just couldn't stand the sound of my character's voice after 5 minutes.  I wound up playing a female human ranger because while her voice is sometimes annoying, at least I don't relate the voice as coming from me.

I really like the concept of story and voice acting in video games.  I am, however, beginning to despise voice acting in MMOs.  When the voice acting drives me away from content, that's when I start getting irritated with a game.