WoW, EQ2, SWG Content Updates

Several of the larger commercial MMOGs are gearing up for updates in the next few weeks. The Everquest 2 Producer's Letter details more quests and PvP news, SWG's Patch 19 has smuggler updates and animation fixes, and World of Warcraft lead producer Shane Dabiri offers up a Battleplan for your perusal. (N3rfed has some leaked patch notes, if you're so inclined.) From the WoW Battleplan: "Some of our upcoming plans have already been mentioned on our community site. For example, in our next major update, we will be releasing Blackwing Lair, a 40-person raid dungeon, where you will be able to battle against the epic dragon Nefarian and his minions. We are also working on a 20-person dungeon called Zul'Gurub, and the mysterious lands of Ahn'Qiraj in Silithus. Outside of dungeons, we want to continue adding new world events, such as a carnival that will take place in Mulgore and Elwynn forest."

MMORPGs

[nepheles]

Why can't MMORPGs have user-modifiable, organically-growing worlds? It's pretty inefficient for a small group of developers to have to create everything: you're obviously never going to get the same level of detail (could they create something as detailed as even a typical small town?).

By comparison, allowing players to construct buildings, create communities, etc., on randomly generated terrain would create a world with detail proportional to the number of players.

I'd nearly play that game.

Re:MMORPGs

[kniLnamiJ-neB]

I agree. It would be awesome to see them set up something that parallels the expansion into the American West in the 1800s. Imagine going somewhere, building a house, and trying to make it on your own with small groups of settlers; the social people who all live near each other become towns... then let the developers be in charge of creating stuff around the towns for the people to get into, such as quests or a gold rush or something... it could be like "Little House on the Warcraft" :P

I would make it so that NPCs could never be shopkeepers or anything though... you'd surely find some players with enough entrepreneurial spirit to go into business running Bob the Elf's General Store. It should really be a separate class, where they gain experience and receive business bonuses and stuff just as mages receive new spells. I get tired of hacking and slashing all the time... if I could be the shopkeeper who hears the gossip and helps other players learn where certain things are (even accept bribes for information?), I think that would be a fun role to play in the game.

Need to expand?

[alvinrod]

Why do companies always feel the need to start work on planning on an expansion before their current product is finished or to a point that can be considered mostly finished?

Although it's a really good game, World of Warcraft isn't what I'd call finished, there are still a lot of glaring problems and annoyances that can ruin the otherwise wonderful gaming experience a person has when playing. For Blizzard to even think about working on an expansion or devouting any staff to it is a waste of time and counterproductive.

Just like at how this has caused problems for Microsoft. They've started working on Longhorn thinking that they were done with Windows XP. However, nearly every month some design flaw or security hole is found which requires dozens of developers or coders to be reassigned to fix the problems in their current generation software. You could have two different teams, one for each project, but you still end up splitting your work force.

Like Longhorn, the next generation software will only be delayed because there are too many problems with the current generation software to devout the entire company towards building the next. The project can't be delayed for ever and eventually needs a target release date. It's likely that it won't be on schedule, features will need to get left out, and in the end a lot of shoddy coding will be done to get the software out the door. Then the problem repeats.

Software companies, Blizzard included, shouldn't be worrying about sequals or next generation software before they've got all the problems fixed. The article really doesn't give much information other than it's been announced (big surprise there), so it's difficult to say whether or not they're giving the project developement time. However, the temptation will most assuredly be there at some point.

Hopefully they'll learn a valuable lesson where so many have gone wrong before, otherwise things just tend to get worse and worse as time goes on and the cycle repeats.

Guild Wars

[DeadBugs]

Guild Wars had a major update on the 15th. With new (free) content coming soon. Did I mention that there is no monthly fee, I think I did.

http://www.guildwars.com/news/gameupdates.html [guildwars.com]

Here are some screenshots I took recently, fun game. [digitalwreckage.com]

Re:Need to expand?

[Anonymous Coward]

There was an update for Starcraft a few months ago.

Re:Wake Me Up When MMORPG Makers Grow a Pair

[rAiNsT0rm]

I've been playing Guild Wars since Beta, and it was supposed to be so innovative, etc., etc. it turned out to be more of the same, no innovation, and the basics keep getting changed every week to the point that nothing is stable or makes sense anymore. After all this time you would think someone would come up with a unique twist and really change MMO's forever... but instead it is just more EQ with pretty graphics over and over and over.

The one game I'm holding out hope for is D&D Online, it doesn;t look to revolutionize MMO's but instead it fixes all the little problems that plague them all. That's a good start.

Re:40 person raid? How EQ.

[patio11]

I've participated in three raids to kill Onyxia (we haven't gotten her yet, but she goes down this Friday, darn it -- the international Coalition of the Willing Aussies, Kiwis, and American expats in Japan will beat that overgrown lizard) and I'm hardly hard core -- recently I put in, oh, about 10 hours a week to WoW. I knew 20 of the 40 in the raid personally, the rest were from my extended social circle -- people who grouped with people I grouped with, basically. Each attempt on Onyxia, who isn't exactly the pinnacle of end-game content but is vastly harder than any non-raiding instance in the game, takes 30 minutes, and if you've got a 2 or 3 hour block to set aside on the weekend you can keep running until you get her. The level of tactics during the encounter aren't quite chess but you can definately sort out the people who are just hitting autoattack from the ones who are thinking it through -- we had one frost mage singlehandedly stop a wipe (total loss of raid group) by distracting some of the mini-dragons that spawn and try to eat your casters, and then fighting fifteen of them at once... and winning, without an ounce of support from anybody. Unfortunately, despite his heroic efforts the main tank bit it five minutes later, and then Big Momma Onyxia decided that frost mage had done enough damage for the day, and ate him.

Re:Need to expand?

[illumin8]

Software companies, Blizzard included, shouldn't be worrying about sequals or next generation software before they've got all the problems fixed.

I agree completely, but unfortunately, patches are free, and Expansion Packs make money... That's what it's all about really.

Blizzard has the capability of simply adding new content in the form of patches. My god, the patches are already huge to begin with, and they need a BitTorrent client just to download them. Also, I think $14.95 a month * over 2 million people equals enough money to pay for an army of artists, coders, and story writers to create new content continually.

But, the bottom line is money. Blizzard will extract as much money as possible from their customers, whether they've fixed the bugs in the original WoW or not.

Re:Wake Me Up When MMORPG Makers Grow a Pair

[grumpygrodyguy]

Can I have your stuff? ;-P

Nope and you can't have mine either. I'm in the same boat with the GP but my major beef was that I feel Blizzard really drop the ball by not putting enough attention on AAs and other means of allowing players to use xp after 60.

Rather than give my stuff away I'm waiting a few months to see if I read something groundbreaking that convinces me Blizzard has managed to make the game appealing again.

Until then my 60 Orc Hunter and all his gear with remain in the freezer waiting for the day if/when I decide to return.