Combat is the heart and soul of many massively multiplayer games. “Go whack the foozle” is the jist of many quests, combat proficiency is very much required to make it through some of the higher level areas, and bragging rights often center around how much damage you can do in a single strike. With combat playing such a central role, it’s interesting that we haven’t seen more variety in combat design.

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One trip to the Origins Gamefest and the wedding of a good friend later, I’m going to be back on the regular with the Random Dialogue column. Assuming that moving to a new apartment and Gen Con don’t get to me this coming month. Ahem. Anyway, before I left for Origins I picked up the main book for the new Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting, Eberron. As you may or may not already be aware, Eberron is going to be the setting for the Dungeons and Dragons Online game being developed by Turbine. The campaign setting is set on the continent of Khorvaire, which just recently finished up a century-long war between the former members of a great nation. The MMOG is going to take place on the continent to the south of Khorvaire, known as X’endrik. You know all of this, of course. Both the MMOG and the RTS are going to be centered in X’endrik, as Wizards of the Coast enjoys the profits it can snag from Keith Baker’s new campaign setting. Without the hangups that come with doing a Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk game, these forays into digital media can be as great or as poor as the designers want them to be, and there will be a minimum of expectations going into the experience.

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Lately I’ve been knee deep in several games at once. It’s made concentrating on any one game difficult, but somehow I’ve managed. Besides City of Heroes, I’ve been playing a good deal of Everquest lately. We’re ramping up for something pretty special regarding Sony’s venerable property, and my habitation of Norrath has been a big part of those preperations. I’ve also been keeping abreast of EQ news, and the big news of late has been the Guild Summit. I believe the Everquest Guild Summit has far reaching implications for the Massively Multiplayer Genre as a whole, and marks a new beginning for Sony Online Entertainment.

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City of Heroes has been in the news so much lately that more commentary seems superfluous. That’s the talk of villianous scum, I say! Coming up in a few weeks we’ll have our in-depth review of City of Heroes from our newest MMORPGDot editor, Enich. In the meantime, I’ve been playing too. I’m going to use this opportunity today to discuss the game and try to tap into why this game has caught the imaginations of so many people.

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Last week my fiancee and I left for the Floridian climes of Walt Disney World. This was preceded by my coming down with a cold. Here is a tip for you wonderful readers: Don’t get on a plane with a head cold. It was a special torture that involved every fluid-filled cavity in my skull expanding and contracting in time to the pressure changes of the cabin. I cannot recommend against it enough. Despite the painful and disorienting way to start the trip, we had a wonderful time. While I’m still recovering, I thought I’d share some insights I got from the House of Mouse that have or could be applied to the Massively Multiplayer Genre.

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Like everyone else in existence, I’ve been playing City of Heroes lately. CoH is an interesting game. It’s thug-punching fun, to be sure, but the costume creator is still a feature that everyone is going ga-ga for. And, with good reason. Almost every facet of the character’s costume can be manipulated, from the swoops on their head to the style of their boots. I think the level of detail we can see in this system, and the level of physical manipulation possible in Star Wars Galaxies, marks a shift in developer thinking.

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The Orc lands are not a pretty site. Blasted wastes of red rock inhabited by vicious dinosaurs, boars, vultures, harpies and pirates. Just the kind of place an Orc could love. The land of Durotar is dominated in the northern area by the huge city of Orgrimaar, home to the orcs and trolls. From the gates of Orgrimaar to the south, a path winds its way throughout Durotar past orc villages, a troll encampment, and finally takes a swing to the west into the harsh lands known as The Barrens. From the northern wall of Orgrimaar you can move from Durotar into the land of Ashenvale, which stretches all the way up the continent towards the elven lands. Durotar itself is a craggy plain that shows the kinds of weather it has to endure. The many canyons and arroyos are reminiscent of the American southwest. It’s very easy to be running over what appears to be a plain, see a small dip in the rocks up ahead and come to the lip of a deep canyon filled with monsters.

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