Riot Stops In-Game Abuse

Riot, the developer's behind the MOBA League of Legends has been boasting about how their tribunal system for policing player behavior works. League of Legend players vote in the tribunal instances of behavior flagged as abuse. These votes are used to better enhance the automated systems to detect abusive behaviors. Thanks to the constant learning of this system, the tribunal has had a dramatic effect on abuse and player experience.

“As a result of these governance systems changing online cultural norms, incidences of homophobia, sexism and racism in League of Legends have fallen to a combined 2% of all games,” wrote Riot’s lead game designer of social systems Jeffrey “Lyte” Lin in a blog post at Recode.
“Verbal abuse has dropped by more than 40%, and 91.6% of negative players change their act and never commit another offense after just one reported penalty. These results have inspired us, because we realize that this isn’t an impossible problem after all.”

Riot Games has also given academic entities access to the data generated by League's systems, according to Lin. This is a crucial step towards understanding toxicity and creating a better environment for all gamers.

Such an effective treatment of what was previously considered an uncontrollable problem in multiplayer gaming has never been seen before, and I feel that other major multiplayer titles like the Call of Duty series, World of Warcraft, DOTA 2 etcetera need to take note, and implement it where they can.

It’s important that such a regulatory system is followed by other online communities. Sure, it might take and extra few dollars out of the gaming publishers’ pockets, but implementation of such a system ensures longevity of an online game, and prevents it from having unfortunate fates of titles like Modern Warfare 2.

I might not play League of Legends all too often, but I would certainly like to observe tribunal-inspired features in other MMO's.

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Cabal 2 - Review

Cabal 2 was released June 2nd and I was excited to see what it was all about, considering the first Cabal wasn't in my opinion all that great. Though I threw my preconceived notions out the window as the download bar got closer and closer to the 100% mark.

I am not going to lie, my excitement dead right there.

Now I understand that this is just the beta release and it is just the first week of the launch, though the character classes were limited and the customization (which is personally my favorite part) was a bit lack luster. There are only a hand full of classes and I know that I shouldn't complain about this knowing that it is just the start of the game, so lets look more at the customization.

Of course you have your presets, but who wants to do that? The fun of entering a new world is to reinvent yourself  as a hot Asian looking woman, right? Don't act like it is just me.

The options were there, the effects were not. I had to strain, leaning into my monitor to even notice the changes made from 0 to 100. Cheek bones didn't move, arm thickness was nonexistent. Which was quite odd considering that they gave you an option for body thickness that made me look like a, lets say, a 'healthy' woman. Now, if I can change the body thickness that far, am I just going to have small arms and legs? Dammit, there is nothing wrong with fighting off BAMs with my bat wings waving around like a regal flightless bird doing a mating dance!

Too much? Okay, lets move on.

So now I was in the game, with my Asian looking Force Archer, ready to explore the lands. Or not, because I soon found out that this MMO is very story driven, which is not a bad thing. Though if you are going to be a strong story based game please follow the story of finding a little girl and how does killing 5 beetles help me in finding her? It doesn't, I just simply doesn't.

Speaking of story driven and following the story line, when I hit 'm' to see my map there was a single trail. There was no room to explore with either invisible walls or rocks/cliffs you can't jump over. Usually I wouldn't mind the story, linear gameplay or the not so customizable characters, though it was all done in such a horrible way.

If this game came out in the early 2000s it would have been raved about and a great MMO. I am not just talking about the halfway decent graphics, but more of the feel that the world gives off. There are no new ideas, monsters, NPC or even classes. Everything is just how typical people think a traditional MMO should be and it saddens me. It saddens me to think that with all of these other games pushing the bounds of what a free MMO can be, ESTsoft wanted to settle for mediocrity.

Now, please don't get me wrong, the game if changes are made could be a well rounded game. I hope to test this game out soon down the road so that this review could be a bit more positive, because not everything was bad. The combat system was promising, it wasn't a drone style fight to where you click an enemy and it starts attacking for you. If you want to hit something you have push your hotkey button every time. This made me feel like I was not only the driver of an avatar but it immersed me into the fight. Now the opposite of that feeling was the auto run feature that allowed you to click a quest and it took you to the area automatically.

If I didn't think before that ESTsoft didn't care to put together an amazing original game, I now know that they didn't want you to have a unique experience either. Dragging you from one quest to the next is the ultimate insult to any gamer. The journey to discover or to make mistakes or just goof off as you head your way to the next objective is the fun all gamers should experience.

Needless to say as of right now, this game is not for me, its not for you and its not for anyone. Uninstalled and hoping that the patches to come enhance the game to be relevant for today's standards of what a free MMO is and can be.

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Sharks vs. MMOs

In honor of today being the first day of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, I wanted to present you with MMO's good, bad and ugly underwater lands. Trust me, all of it is bad...really bad.

The first time that I encountered an MMO with an underwater area was EverQuest in the Kedge Keep dungeon. It was new, it was exciting and it was a complete flippin' headache. Kedge Keep wasn't a linear job, quite often you had to back track to the same area you were in a while back to persue the end. Though, like I siad it was the first time I ever had to fight or perform underwater and although it was a headache, it was still fun.

Champions Online took a stab at the underwater scene and although the bright colors and creative takes of sea life were fun, you'd think that it may be a little easier with Superheroes. Of course, it was a fail. An end-game area for the elite of the elite to enter a submarine to submerge down to the depth of Lemuria to fight foes from all sides with quite an end-game, right? Well, it was, until you got down there and found that besides a floating 'weightless' feeling to your character and the sea life, you didn't feel as if you were underwater at all.

Two of the most known waterworld blunders are WoW and GW2, so let's talk about them together because they had the same issues. WoW was the first to create a compelling underwater world creating a clunky combat experience that was stressful to maneuver and they thought they could bypass this by offering special items to walk on the ocean floor. This did not have the affect that was intended. Then you had GW2 that wanted to compete with WoW trying to recreate a watery experience that was more refined, besides the graphics all of the same issues occured.

Trion Worlds with RIFT's expansion of Nightmare Tides was the latest that I know of and although with my failed past I didn't dive (bad pun, I know...but it is the first and I have held back a lot) right into it with high expectations. Call it a predetermined notion, but I felt as if the waterlogged journey floundered (bad pun 2 and in the same paragraph!).

So the question beg's to be answered; Can we have an MMORPG that is water-based or has lands that are under the sea in today's MMO's that don't leave you feeling beached? (last one, I swear!)

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The Top 10 Free MMORPG's I've Played

Being a gamer for so many years I have seen a lot of MMORPG's come and go. Oddly enough Free MMO's are somewhat of a new comer to MMO's. Monthly subscription MMO's were the only way to get your MMORPG fix. And let me tell you, when F2P (free to play) MMO's came about with Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online I jump on them and haven't looked back ever since.

Now-a-days there are a plethora of F2P MMO's and in my opinion, they are better than the subscription based games. So here is a list of my top MMO's.

10. LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE - This was the status quo for all F2P MMO's to come.

9. AION - This game is easily the best PvP MMO.

8. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE - Not the MMO for everyone; it was slow paced, had to complete a chain of quests before recieving xp and really only appealed to D&D fan's. But still a great game.

7. EVERQUEST II - Fantasy MMO's are never in short supply, but when it comes to storyline and pure fan-based loyalty there is no MMO that compares.

6. NEVERWINTER - Based on the 4th Gen Rules (if you don't know D&D then you probably don't care) it offered great story-based quests and allowed you to collect points to create your own quests.

5. RIFT - If you wanted to play WoW (World of Warcraft), but didn't have the money to, this was your answer. Rift mimiced the gameplay style of WoW, which is never a bad thing, though it will always be free.

4. STAR WARS OLD REPUBLIC - I wouldn't be a true nerd if I didn't have something Star Wars here. Although some may question why it is on the list at all or even why it is number 4. The way I see it is - when it went free to play in 2012 and people signed up in the hundreds of thousands I don't believe they truly gave this game a chance. They leveled a little and left, though if they stayed they would understand why this game is number 4.

3. FIESTA - As the title says, this is MY top 10 and for me Fiesta was a great anime style MMORPG.

2. MARVEL HEROES 2015 - Again this is purely a nerd pick. I have always loved Marvel (fuck DC...no not you DC) and to see my favorite Marvel character's come to life is a dream come true. Not only that but the play as them too.

1. TERA - Of course this is the number one MMORPG on my list. Storyline, graphics, combat system, character's, community and quests, Tera has mastered them all.

What are some of your favorites?

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Skyforge Announces Open Beta Launch

Skyforge has announced it's Open Beta Launch Date - July 16!

If you were or are lucky enough to purchase the Founder's Pack you have the privledge to play on July 9th. So be sure that you have your client downloaded and updated because like every other initial launch there are sure to be some hiccups. This I am certain.

Though if you weren't lucky enough to purchase a Founder's Pack, there are still some perks that you are going to get. For those that take part in the open beta will recieve two costumes (pictured below). So be sure to join the rush and score yours today!

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What Makes a Gamer?

Today I came across an article online from early this year. Here is the article;

A Taiwanese man has died after a three-day gaming binge at an internet cafe in the island's south, the second such case this year.

The 32-year-old, identified by his family name Hsieh, was found slumped in his chair in the cafe in Kaohsiung city.

Other patrons initially thought he was sleeping, but when an employee realised he was not breathing he was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the Taipei Times reported.

Doctors confirmed he had suffered cardiac failure, ruling it a "sudden death" from prolonged computer gaming, the report said.

"Hsieh was a regular customer here and always played for consecutive days. When tired, he would sleep face-down on the table or doze off slumped in his chair. That is why we were not aware of his condition in the beginning," the employee was quoted as saying.

It was not clear what Hsieh was playing at the time of his death. The report described it only as "combat computer games".

The case came after a 38-year-old man was found dead at an internet cafe in New Taipei City on January 1 following five days of video game bingeing.

Police said in both cases other patrons appeared nonchalant about the deaths, continuing playing even when tables were cordoned off for investigators to gather evidence.

While I was reading it I asked myself if this is a real gamer or someone that has blurred the lines between reality and fantasy. In recent years there have been so many articles, blogs and debates about what makes a gamer. I remember a couple of years ago there was a poll given to the general population asking them if they have played any games in the past 6 months, either console, PC or mobile. When they compiled this information they found that 83% percent are gamers and nearly 50% of those gamers are women.

Here is where I have an issue.

Mobile games are fast surpassing the sales of console and PC games. This makes games and gaming more accessable to everyone with a phone or tablet. If I were to ask my 6 year old daughter the same question, she would say yes. Though does casual mobile gaming like Clash of Clans, Candy Crush or Angry Birds make someone a gamer?

I don't think so.

Furthermore, 48% are female gamers? Where are this girls? Why am I not married to one of them? All jokes aside this statistic is subject to the first. Games are more accessable, mostly mobile games. Though if you were to ask these women if they consider themselves gamers, I could guarantee that the numbers would be a bit more realistic. Not to say women are not gamers, they are and some more so then men that consider themselves gamers.

This brings us to the original question. What makes a gamer?

(The following is my opinion and my opinion alone. If you don't agree, write your own post.)

Casual mobile games does not make a gamer. Playing Candy Crush to level 457 (the current level I am stuck on) also doesn't make you a gamer. This just means that you have a lot of moments in life where you are sitting waiting rooms, standing in line or take a lot of long dumps. There may be a day to where mobile/tablet games can meet the graphic, MMO and intensity of console or PC games. Though for right now, you're not a gamer.

Gamers are individuals that take gaming to the next level. It is no longer a casual hobby, it is life. Now, don't get my words twisted, life doesn't mean binge gaming to the point of death. It does make you a gamer however, just a stupid one. When I say 'it is life' I mean that every moment you can spare, it is spent gaming. If not gaming, reading or watching reviews, keeping up with the latest news, updates or patches, joining a clan and seeing those people as more than text you read or voices you hear because they are true friends (of course not all clan members lol). If you watch a new game trailer and don't weep at the mere sight of 4k graphics or see that the Oculus Rift is going to make immersion gaming one step closer to reality, then you are nothing more than a casual gamer.

Come back to me when you have seriously thought about or have a mini fringe in your room so you don't have to leave. Have you bought a wireless headset to be cool, or did you buy it so that you know what is happening even if your going to the bathroom? Does your computer have more money in than you earn in a month (and yes, I include peripherals)?

No?! Then don't come stepping up to my arena calling yourself a gamer.

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Wildstar - Not Ready for the Subsciption Model Big Leagues

Wildstar, a Carbine Studio's sci-fi MMORPG, with only lauching a year ago they are going to be dropping the paid-subscription model to make the game F2P. On the NCSoft website they stated;

Since launch we’ve listened to all of your feedback and worked hard to improve your game experience. Part of that goal has always been to bring more players in to experience WildStar, and that's what Free-to-Play is all about.

This is what the wanted to truly say;

Okay, okay. We know that we have a good game here, but no one is buying it. So what we are going to is make the game free to play in hopes that we gain player popularity and can rape the players with in-game purchases. This way we will finally be able to get our profit in the positives.

What chance did a subscription model game based on an unknown original IP have in a market segment that couldn’t support a Star Wars MMO made by one of gaming’s most successful development houses have to really make it? The answer is none and we can see this in their sales numbers.

Click Image to Enlarge

Although I give them some slack for being idiotic and trying to play with the big boys, I will be downloading the game the day it launches free to play.

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