VirginWorlds MMORPG News Host: Brent VirginWorlds is a weekly news podcast covering Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Eve Online, Vanguard, Lord of the Rings Online and many many more. The VirginWorlds MMORPG Podcast is the flagship podcast of the VirginWorlds MMO Podcast Collective found at http://www.virginworlds.com
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VirginWorlds Podcast #54Mon, 26 Feb 2007 07:53:00 GMT [download/play]
Another dose of massive news and commentary. Topics for the week include: Acclaim's Top Secret MMO Project, Auto Assault, Heatwave Interactive, EverQuest II, Dreamlords, Guild Wars, Last Chaos, Lineage II, Lord of the Rings Online, Stargate Worlds, Vanguard, Warhammer Online, The Newb Experiment and the Profile of the Week.
VirginWorlds is a weekly news podcast covering Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Eve Online, Vanguard, and many many more. The main site can be found at http://www.VirginWorlds.com
'Top Secret' by sifo Submitted on 2007-02-27 09:47:40 CST I signed up for the Top Secret game development promotion out of morbid curiosity. I'm supposed to get an email within 2-weeks.
'me too' by Brent Submitted on 2007-02-27 11:12:45 CST I did too, although I can't imagine me getting along with David Perry since I sometimes get enraged by his statements. Then again, he said he was looking for passionate people and if I started yelling at him every time he spoke he'd might consider that a winning quality. Maybe.
'Its all good ..even the roadshows' by ArtphulDodger Submitted on 2007-02-27 14:42:30 CST As an avid Guildcast listener I was directed her and have now completed listening to the archives and am up to date. I have to say Brent, thank you, for enlarging my MMO horizons > In fact I bought EQ2 this AM just on yours and Brandons suggestions. (SOE are you listening?) Thanks for all your efforts and looking forward to the "newbs" take on my beloved Guild Wars.
'No COH/COV Newb Experiment?' by Harlyquinn Submitted on 2007-02-27 15:07:38 CST Oh, pooh!
I'm a little sad. COV is the game I play the most and I was looking forward to hearing your wife's thoughts on the game. :-)
On a different note. What is the music at the beginning of your podcasts? If you've answered that somewhere else, I apologize for the repeat, I couldn't find it.
And thanks for the great podcast. I look forward to it each week. *grin*
'A couple of things' by scytale2 Submitted on 2007-02-28 07:21:49 CST Firstly, the Dreamlords review, in fact every review of new games. Most of the decent sites make sure that the reviews are based on a strong amount of play and knowledge of the game and I think yours should be the same, unless perhaps it is flagged as an "Early thoughts" review. Dreamlords is not an easy game to play - if it were it would be somewhat less appealing. The reviewer made some errors, but this is more the fault of the tutorial, which although very full, does not include perhaps everything it should. I made the same errors too in the first game.
There will often be mobs which are too hard to kill in the game, so you should simply concentrate on those which you can, as you develop your skills. Real time, unlike some games will allow you to gain better units which will be able to defeat these "impossible" mobs. Also, you don't lose much by fighting them, as you can regenerate all your units that die quite quickly.
Dreamlords is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is different and a little more determination by the reviewer would have unlocked something more of the game. In one week, you will not have tried out or explored the differing gameplay of the three races, nor was any mention of the teamwork in a guild, nor any mention of some of the unique "guildswap" aspects of the game or the PvP. These are important gameplay aspects omitted from the review, which make all the difference. All in all not really a complete review imho.
Secondly, I think many were hoping to hear the views on City of Villains, as this does have more for the noob and perhaps more for women - let's hear. Guild Wars, in comparison, is designed much more for experienced gamers. PvP just isn't something for noob players. I am interested to have this confirmed - is Jenny starting at L20 or is she going to start at L1?
'review quality' by Brent Submitted on 2007-02-28 11:58:18 CST This is something I take very seriously and barring the occasional port from the east, i refuse to do a full treatment of an MMO that has less than 50-100 played. That being said, the zero-day reviews/previews that have been done by Guy, Urban, Jeff and even Darren on hi own site do fall into a first impression category even if they didn't say so. In fact, I noted that Jeff Green from Games For Windows did a LotRO review lately on his blog and I'm thinking... Jeff Green has the time and patience to review an MMO? Seems unlikely.
Scy, I hear what you're saying and future early commentary or guest segments will be sure to indicate the level of investigation be it review/preview/beta/first impressions etc. I'll take more care qualifying that stuff, though I think it has been implied in most cases.
Regarding the n00b segment. I'll revisit the idea of covering CoH/Cov in the that segment since I have received more than a couple disappointed mails. Guilds will be next week and then I'll see about following on with CoH/V (and maybe others too).
On the Guild Wars one I intend to start Jenny at Level 1 Pre-searing Ascalon.
Thanks for all the good thoughts.
'Typo Town' by Brent Submitted on 2007-02-28 12:00:54 CST Won't you take me to... Typo-Toooooown!
Won't you take me to....
'reviews' by darrenl Submitted on 2007-02-28 12:18:17 CST Yeah....I've made sure the qualify the two reviews that I have done so far on my site (Vanguard and LoTR). Both of those games where in beta when I reviewed them and both have such words as "beta" and "impressions" right in the title of the entry.
You'll never really see a full review at tcsgamer just due to the nature of MMOs.
'Dreamlords Review.' by Dathmar Submitted on 2007-02-28 19:06:26 CST scytale2 - sorry you felt that way about the review...but as I am sure you are aware the game was only out for about one week when I recorded the review...so I didn't have a great in-depth knowledge of the game ( and due to lack of documentation) - but thought it would be good to give my thoughts on the game to th the listeners as there is no trial / demo for Dreamlords...and mute point on the Dreamlord boards.
I think most people understand that these reviews are one person's opinion....which I think I said in the review anyway.
Also I am sure you understand that I cannot be 100% correct about everything in the review as the information is just not always available so I say it as I see it..but I do try to gather as much information before doing a review...
Also some of my actions were based on what a developer and some experienced players suggested I do...and these actions I felt showed a restriction in the gameplay of Dreamlords.
...but thank you for your comments and they are noted for any reviews I may submit to Brent in the future.
'A vote for n00b CoH/CoV' by pocosong Submitted on 2007-03-01 13:41:01 CST Howdy Brent -- I just finished listening to 54, and I want to say thanks for another great show!
I would like to cast a vote for CoH/CoV instead of Guild Wars. True Guild Wars is different than other MMORPGs, but it would be nice to have a non-fantasy genre experience (other than Eve). Plus, I'm a BIG fan of CoH. ;)
On a side note, although I'm not a fan of your bands style of music, I do have to say the quality of the song you played at the end of the show was GREAT! Nice work! What instrument do you play?
Thanks again!
'nice show' by Sente Submitted on 2007-03-01 14:07:34 CST Nice show.
I was a bit surprised of thre pick of GW for the next noob segment, that would be the 3rd fantasy MMOG out of 5 games. A bit different UI and more instances, but pre-searing Ascalon does not strike me as very different. Instead of CoH, a choice like CoV, SWG or Matrix Online would feel more logical in order for a bit different experience. But I can understand that not all these options may be available and the pick would be fromt he games you have.
Regarding LoTRO, I do not think that it is necessarily those that are excited about the lore that are positive about the game. Personally the lore was the major deciding factor for logn that I would _not_ try that game - I had serious doubts (and still have) that such an IP will help an MMOG. However, the little I have played the game gave a positive impression, so I am going to have a go at it.
The buttonmashing comment was also something I reacted to ;)
I can't say that I would label any MMOG I have played having "buttonmashing gameplay" overall. There are certainly some classes/archetypes/professions in some MMOGs that could be labeled buttonmashers, at least for a number of levels at the lower end. These are typically the damage dealers without much utility. I think these are present in most MMOGs, be it EQ2, WoW, CoX, LoTRO and others - the exception would probably be ATITD ;)
'Love the show!' by Blitzkrieg Submitted on 2007-03-01 22:00:13 CST I've been checking out the podcast for about six weeks now...VERY WELL DONE! I am always looking for the next big game and Virgin Worlds is a nice way to get lots of good info in a rapid-fire way.
Side note...I would like to ditto a few of the other users comments...I would prefer seeing the NooB experiment investigate CoH/CoV. It is my preferred game. I think it has an excellent community with some really exciting play (especially in the first few missions). As mentioned in a previous post, you've already exposed your wife to 2 "fantasy" games. Eve is definitely a "hard core gamers" list topper. And Second Life? Man, that doesn't even count! Anyway, I would love to hear what she has to say about CoH. I bet she would LOVE the character creator! Anyway, I am thinking it would be a more interesting noob experiment, IMHO.
Thanks man! Keep up the excellent podcasts!
'great show' by Romax Submitted on 2007-03-04 17:08:50 CST Brent. I wanted to give you kudos on your website and podcast. Ive been trying to find a new mmo game to play and I am really glad i found your site for research. I look forward to your upcoming shows and im glad to be part of the community.
Cheers!
Romax
'Top Secret' by sifo
Submitted on 2007-02-27 09:47:40 CST
I signed up for the Top Secret game development promotion out of morbid curiosity. I'm supposed to get an email within 2-weeks.
'me too' by Brent
Submitted on 2007-02-27 11:12:45 CST
I did too, although I can't imagine me getting along with David Perry since I sometimes get enraged by his statements. Then again, he said he was looking for passionate people and if I started yelling at him every time he spoke he'd might consider that a winning quality. Maybe.
'Its all good ..even the roadshows' by ArtphulDodger
Submitted on 2007-02-27 14:42:30 CST
As an avid Guildcast listener I was directed her and have now completed listening to the archives and am up to date. I have to say Brent, thank you, for enlarging my MMO horizons > In fact I bought EQ2 this AM just on yours and Brandons suggestions. (SOE are you listening?) Thanks for all your efforts and looking forward to the "newbs" take on my beloved Guild Wars.
'No COH/COV Newb Experiment?' by Harlyquinn
Submitted on 2007-02-27 15:07:38 CST
Oh, pooh!
I'm a little sad. COV is the game I play the most and I was looking forward to hearing your wife's thoughts on the game. :-)
On a different note. What is the music at the beginning of your podcasts? If you've answered that somewhere else, I apologize for the repeat, I couldn't find it.
And thanks for the great podcast. I look forward to it each week. *grin*
'A couple of things' by scytale2
Submitted on 2007-02-28 07:21:49 CST
Firstly, the Dreamlords review, in fact every review of new games. Most of the decent sites make sure that the reviews are based on a strong amount of play and knowledge of the game and I think yours should be the same, unless perhaps it is flagged as an "Early thoughts" review. Dreamlords is not an easy game to play - if it were it would be somewhat less appealing. The reviewer made some errors, but this is more the fault of the tutorial, which although very full, does not include perhaps everything it should. I made the same errors too in the first game.
There will often be mobs which are too hard to kill in the game, so you should simply concentrate on those which you can, as you develop your skills. Real time, unlike some games will allow you to gain better units which will be able to defeat these "impossible" mobs. Also, you don't lose much by fighting them, as you can regenerate all your units that die quite quickly.
Dreamlords is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is different and a little more determination by the reviewer would have unlocked something more of the game. In one week, you will not have tried out or explored the differing gameplay of the three races, nor was any mention of the teamwork in a guild, nor any mention of some of the unique "guildswap" aspects of the game or the PvP. These are important gameplay aspects omitted from the review, which make all the difference. All in all not really a complete review imho.
Secondly, I think many were hoping to hear the views on City of Villains, as this does have more for the noob and perhaps more for women - let's hear. Guild Wars, in comparison, is designed much more for experienced gamers. PvP just isn't something for noob players. I am interested to have this confirmed - is Jenny starting at L20 or is she going to start at L1?
'review quality' by Brent
Submitted on 2007-02-28 11:58:18 CST
This is something I take very seriously and barring the occasional port from the east, i refuse to do a full treatment of an MMO that has less than 50-100 played. That being said, the zero-day reviews/previews that have been done by Guy, Urban, Jeff and even Darren on hi own site do fall into a first impression category even if they didn't say so. In fact, I noted that Jeff Green from Games For Windows did a LotRO review lately on his blog and I'm thinking... Jeff Green has the time and patience to review an MMO? Seems unlikely.
Scy, I hear what you're saying and future early commentary or guest segments will be sure to indicate the level of investigation be it review/preview/beta/first impressions etc. I'll take more care qualifying that stuff, though I think it has been implied in most cases.
Regarding the n00b segment. I'll revisit the idea of covering CoH/Cov in the that segment since I have received more than a couple disappointed mails. Guilds will be next week and then I'll see about following on with CoH/V (and maybe others too).
On the Guild Wars one I intend to start Jenny at Level 1 Pre-searing Ascalon.
Thanks for all the good thoughts.
'Typo Town' by Brent
Submitted on 2007-02-28 12:00:54 CST
Won't you take me to... Typo-Toooooown!
Won't you take me to....
'reviews' by darrenl
Submitted on 2007-02-28 12:18:17 CST
Yeah....I've made sure the qualify the two reviews that I have done so far on my site (Vanguard and LoTR). Both of those games where in beta when I reviewed them and both have such words as "beta" and "impressions" right in the title of the entry.
You'll never really see a full review at tcsgamer just due to the nature of MMOs.
'Dreamlords Review.' by Dathmar
Submitted on 2007-02-28 19:06:26 CST
scytale2 - sorry you felt that way about the review...but as I am sure you are aware the game was only out for about one week when I recorded the review...so I didn't have a great in-depth knowledge of the game ( and due to lack of documentation) - but thought it would be good to give my thoughts on the game to th the listeners as there is no trial / demo for Dreamlords...and mute point on the Dreamlord boards.
I think most people understand that these reviews are one person's opinion....which I think I said in the review anyway.
Also I am sure you understand that I cannot be 100% correct about everything in the review as the information is just not always available so I say it as I see it..but I do try to gather as much information before doing a review...
Also some of my actions were based on what a developer and some experienced players suggested I do...and these actions I felt showed a restriction in the gameplay of Dreamlords.
...but thank you for your comments and they are noted for any reviews I may submit to Brent in the future.
'A vote for n00b CoH/CoV' by pocosong
Submitted on 2007-03-01 13:41:01 CST
Howdy Brent -- I just finished listening to 54, and I want to say thanks for another great show!
I would like to cast a vote for CoH/CoV instead of Guild Wars. True Guild Wars is different than other MMORPGs, but it would be nice to have a non-fantasy genre experience (other than Eve). Plus, I'm a BIG fan of CoH. ;)
On a side note, although I'm not a fan of your bands style of music, I do have to say the quality of the song you played at the end of the show was GREAT! Nice work! What instrument do you play?
Thanks again!
'nice show' by Sente
Submitted on 2007-03-01 14:07:34 CST
Nice show.
I was a bit surprised of thre pick of GW for the next noob segment, that would be the 3rd fantasy MMOG out of 5 games. A bit different UI and more instances, but pre-searing Ascalon does not strike me as very different. Instead of CoH, a choice like CoV, SWG or Matrix Online would feel more logical in order for a bit different experience. But I can understand that not all these options may be available and the pick would be fromt he games you have.
Regarding LoTRO, I do not think that it is necessarily those that are excited about the lore that are positive about the game. Personally the lore was the major deciding factor for logn that I would _not_ try that game - I had serious doubts (and still have) that such an IP will help an MMOG. However, the little I have played the game gave a positive impression, so I am going to have a go at it.
The buttonmashing comment was also something I reacted to ;)
I can't say that I would label any MMOG I have played having "buttonmashing gameplay" overall. There are certainly some classes/archetypes/professions in some MMOGs that could be labeled buttonmashers, at least for a number of levels at the lower end. These are typically the damage dealers without much utility. I think these are present in most MMOGs, be it EQ2, WoW, CoX, LoTRO and others - the exception would probably be ATITD ;)
'Love the show!' by Blitzkrieg
Submitted on 2007-03-01 22:00:13 CST
I've been checking out the podcast for about six weeks now...VERY WELL DONE! I am always looking for the next big game and Virgin Worlds is a nice way to get lots of good info in a rapid-fire way.
Side note...I would like to ditto a few of the other users comments...I would prefer seeing the NooB experiment investigate CoH/CoV. It is my preferred game. I think it has an excellent community with some really exciting play (especially in the first few missions). As mentioned in a previous post, you've already exposed your wife to 2 "fantasy" games. Eve is definitely a "hard core gamers" list topper. And Second Life? Man, that doesn't even count! Anyway, I would love to hear what she has to say about CoH. I bet she would LOVE the character creator! Anyway, I am thinking it would be a more interesting noob experiment, IMHO.
Thanks man! Keep up the excellent podcasts!
'great show' by Romax
Submitted on 2007-03-04 17:08:50 CST
Brent. I wanted to give you kudos on your website and podcast. Ive been trying to find a new mmo game to play and I am really glad i found your site for research. I look forward to your upcoming shows and im glad to be part of the community.
Cheers!
Romax