Dear SOE,

I think it’s probably pretty obvious where I fall on your new microtransaction content. I like the idea quite a bit, and I’m happy with some elements of what you’ve rolled out so far. The 100 coins = $1 component, for example, is a very wise choice. Making costs easily understandable is one of the simple things a company can do to remain in the good graces of its players, Microsoft notwithstanding.

That said, I think there is big-time room for improvement. If you guys are serious about making a go at this, I think you should consider some elements carefully and perhaps reconsider some of the elements you’ve already apparently decided on. Here’s my list for the suggestion box.
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This is something that I have to say, I love about my job. Despite the pain, suffering, and etc, there is never a truly ‘empty’ week in MMO gaming news. The doldrums of regular game releases just never hits my favorite part of the industry thanks to patches, updates, and (this year) drama out the yin-yang.

Last two days alone:

• SOE Launches Proper RMT services for EQ/EQII
• Warhammer adds two of its missing classes
• Infogrames/Atari purchases Cryptic Studios
• Age of Conan server merges delayed
• Mythic won’t skimp on WAR Updates for Expansion

Tonight I finished Fable 2, and it made me extremely reflective. Suffice it to say that the end of Molneux’s masterpiece is evocative and (if you’re a softie like me) painful. I was specifically playing the game to be as ‘good’ as I could, and as a result had to make some hard decisions. I’ll be honest: it hurt. I didn’t get teary eyed. And, to be honest, I felt a little cheated because I thought some of the storytelling decisions were weak. It wasn’t quite as well told a story as I would have liked. I still really enjoyed the game overall.

Minor quibbles aside, Peter completely ‘hooked’ me. He really got those emotions he was looking for. I felt things, I really felt the impact of the story’s ending. I want a chance to go back and do it over again, it’s so painful. But I can’t, because Fable’s not that kind of game. I can’t help but think about our favorite game genre as it relates to these emotional and storytelling questions.
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The Shortiez guild has bounced back and forth between Loping Plains and Lesser Fay for quite some time. We’ve been stuck in the 50s for what seems like forever, but is probably just since the spring. Still, we’ve been at this general level area for some time. While it’s been a lot of fun, I’m now comfortable in saying that EQ2 is just not all that conducive to playing in the once-a-week mode the Shortiez use.

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This week the MMOG Nation Broadcast is pretty darned navel-gazing. Join Michael and the rest of the Shortiez guild for an in-depth examination of the game EverQuest 2. We discuss, at great length, everything from our classes to leveling areas, to design … it’s the longest MNB by far, clocking in at almost an hour. Promise this won’t become a regular thing. Michael, Katie, Warty, and Brian are the Shortiez, and they’ve got two years of experience playing the game and plenty to kvetch about.

What about your experiences playing EQ2? We’re total newbs, right? Let us know why!

Relevant Links:
http://www.mmognation.com/2007/11/07/sand-in-my-eyes/
http://www.mmognation.com/2007/11/29/up-against-the-grind/
http://www.mmognation.com/2008/01/14/klakkin-with-my-gnomies/
http://www.mmognation.com/2008/02/07/bashing-bixies-and-bees/
http://www.mmognation.com/2008/03/13/melting-menagerie/
http://www.mmognation.com/2008/03/28/the-fabulous-faydark/
http://www.mmognation.com/2008/06/17/big-xp-and-high-concept-conversation/

Over the past few weeks or so, I’ve been really enjoying a sideline business in EverQuest 2 Void Storm chasing. Fire Festival blossoms were a ton of fun too, don’t get me wrong, but I have a lot of appreciation for what SOE’s put out there as just the first part in a multi-month live event. The Void Storms supposedly tie into the next EQ2 expansion. I imagine they presage a wider-scale invasion … leading up to a full-on assault for the expansion proper? One can only hope!

Let me put it this way: if this is the kind of live event we can expect for the rest of the year, SOE is definitely going to be looking at an upswing in subscriptions. The event itself is simple enough: grab a pair of goggles, go find a storm, free the souls besotted by the void, kill a few beasts, and head back to the city. There’s a quest required to get the goggles and anti-void potion, and the quest is simple as dirt: 10 saved souls for a win. Each completed quest nets you a token.

These tokens can be turned in to a vendor very nearby to where you obtain the quest. If you pick your zone right, you can make the run to the storms and back lightning fast. You should keep in mind, basically, that the storms level-adjust themselves to your character. IE: doesn’t matter what zone you go to, you can complete the quest and get your tokens. You’ll only need 18 to get the full set of appearance armor – even fewer if you just want a nice robe or the friendly goblin companion pet.

It’s so simple, but still fun, an easy-to-complete enterprise that just begs for on-the-spot grouping. It’s the kind of thing I’m extremely hopeful we’ll see more of in the expansion – meta currencies for concrete rewards, ways to encourage players to get together in the short term as well as long term.

Check below the cut for a few videos and screenshots from my time with the live event content.
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After a couple of rough months getting my life realigned with freelancing and writing fulltime for Massively, this has been an amazing week for MMO gaming. I have more amazing stuff to do and see in virtual worlds this summer than I’ve ever had before. Fall is going to see some big console releases, and will likely pull me away from my PC for a little while but for the next few week sI’m looking forward to simply jawdropping amounts of in-game fun.

• The Void Storm event in EverQuest 2 will keep me running with Ostimak even outside of my weekly playtime. Good thing anyway – I’m a bit behind on XP just the same.
• The Midsummer Fire Festival begins this week and runs through July 4th. They’ve completely revamped it this year, and I think for once I’m going to make an effort to show up for an in-game capoff event (fireworks).
• Star Wars Galaxies is celebrating its 5th Anniversary this week. I’ve gotta get in to see if I can get Amak that title.
• I literally can’t wait to play DDO thiscoming Monday. It will be my first session actually playing the game properly. Really looking forward to it.
• Speaking of D&D, my first session with my new group is this Sunday. Go goblins go!
• I’m doing things that are under an NDA. It’s all very exciting and non-disclosed!

You came here for videos though, right? Right. This week I’ve got a few quick clips from my time in-game for last Saturday’s PlanetSide event. They’re all really short and (I fear) not all that interesting. I’m trying to work on my camera skills. Make sure to check out the first one, though. Meteors dropping from the sky is an incredibly impressive sight.

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