Guild Wars
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
So, I've started playing Guild Wars. It was lying around on my desk at work and no-one wanted to claim it, so I thought I'd give it a go.
For the uninitiated, it's like World of Warcraft - with roughly half the users, as NCSoft recently celebrated their 5 millionth sign-up - but without monthly fees. Which is what first attracted me to the game. I'm not particularly interested in playing WoW, but I definitely am intrigued by the excellent Tabula Rasa. It's a futuristic MMORPG that tries plenty of new gameplay ideas - I reviewed it a while back for Strategy Informer and loved it - but I can't commit to paying however much a month when my PC won't run it. So I'm going to build a new one soon (I hope) and I may delve back into it then.
For now, though, Guild Wars will suffice. It's great - surprisingly good looking for a game released several years ago - with solid gameplay mechanics. It's pure fantasy and pure MMORPG - the lack of payment is one of the only major differences I can see from WoW and its ilk - but it is hugely enjoyable. So that's good.
Less enjoyable was Saturday - cheifly because I was victim to several images of Arsenal striker Eduardo's mangled, badly injured leg. It was caused by a tackle from Birmingham captain Martin Taylor - and it was a mis-timed but not malicious challenge, as he was perfectly able to challenge for the ball - but just horrendously unfortunate. Tackles like that, after all, are seen in all matches and all leagues up and down the country. The horrific injuries - and stomach-churning pictures reminiscent of Dave Busst, for Coventry - were splashed over the newspapers and internet. The prognosis is a return in 9 months; that'll be impressive, let alone if he manages to play football again at a shadow of his former talent which has been so evident this season.For the uninitiated, it's like World of Warcraft - with roughly half the users, as NCSoft recently celebrated their 5 millionth sign-up - but without monthly fees. Which is what first attracted me to the game. I'm not particularly interested in playing WoW, but I definitely am intrigued by the excellent Tabula Rasa. It's a futuristic MMORPG that tries plenty of new gameplay ideas - I reviewed it a while back for Strategy Informer and loved it - but I can't commit to paying however much a month when my PC won't run it. So I'm going to build a new one soon (I hope) and I may delve back into it then.
For now, though, Guild Wars will suffice. It's great - surprisingly good looking for a game released several years ago - with solid gameplay mechanics. It's pure fantasy and pure MMORPG - the lack of payment is one of the only major differences I can see from WoW and its ilk - but it is hugely enjoyable. So that's good.
Oh well. At least he's not in my fantasy team.
Football Manager Lives!
Monday, 18 February 2008
So, I'm in the Beta of Football Manager Live - Sports Interactive's FM-based MMORPG.
Has there ever been a better combination?
The involving, welcoming and absorbing community spirit of a successful MMO, coupled with the addictive, genius simulation of Football Manager?
It's something of a simplified version of the game, but still works brilliantly, as the key elements are still there. The 2D match engine and tactical gameplay remain intact - if altered slightly - and the few changes that have been made are inspired. Transfers are now made in eBay-style auctions, with a predictable flurry of bids being left until the final minutes, as managers scramble for the best players.
Training is different; taking a leaf out of the book of Eve Online, you select a skill to learn, as the manager - physical training, medical skills, man-management - and this is learned over time, whether you're in the game or not. These skills then have a knock-on effect to your team, boosting their attributes accordingly.
The game isn't just a straight simulation of global leagues, either. Instead, enterprising players set up federations - overseen by a global organisation administered by Sports Interactive, the UEFA of FM Live - to cater for all types of players. I'm in the Casual Football Federation, which has 100 teams, and allows me to play in the evenings. They have several tiers of leagues that vaguely mimic the English structure - Premiership, Championship, Divisions One and Two - with all the corresponding cups. Some federations also have reserves and under-18 leagues to nurture young talent.
And then there's the best part. Playing against other teams - other people - adds another level of excitement. A huge cup final is full of tension in regular FM, but it's different in Live. Two real people, pitting their teams - nurtured over the season - against each other, with the rest of the federation joining the in-game chatroom to watch the match and offer their opinions. It's a tremendously friendly community, which helps, but is also seething with well-meaning competitive spirit.
And this is just with less than a thousand people playing the Beta. My worries are few: I wish there was more involvement when you're outside of the game, as I've got a couple of emails at work telling me a player has been sold from my team. He was on the transfer list, fair enough, but the ability to somehow negotiate and have some involvement would be great. I also wonder how SI will manage the game world when, potentially, hundreds of thousands of people are playing, rather than a few hundred. Should be interesting.
P.S. Bethy Bee Rocks :D
Has there ever been a better combination?
The involving, welcoming and absorbing community spirit of a successful MMO, coupled with the addictive, genius simulation of Football Manager?
It's something of a simplified version of the game, but still works brilliantly, as the key elements are still there. The 2D match engine and tactical gameplay remain intact - if altered slightly - and the few changes that have been made are inspired. Transfers are now made in eBay-style auctions, with a predictable flurry of bids being left until the final minutes, as managers scramble for the best players.
Training is different; taking a leaf out of the book of Eve Online, you select a skill to learn, as the manager - physical training, medical skills, man-management - and this is learned over time, whether you're in the game or not. These skills then have a knock-on effect to your team, boosting their attributes accordingly.
The game isn't just a straight simulation of global leagues, either. Instead, enterprising players set up federations - overseen by a global organisation administered by Sports Interactive, the UEFA of FM Live - to cater for all types of players. I'm in the Casual Football Federation, which has 100 teams, and allows me to play in the evenings. They have several tiers of leagues that vaguely mimic the English structure - Premiership, Championship, Divisions One and Two - with all the corresponding cups. Some federations also have reserves and under-18 leagues to nurture young talent.
And then there's the best part. Playing against other teams - other people - adds another level of excitement. A huge cup final is full of tension in regular FM, but it's different in Live. Two real people, pitting their teams - nurtured over the season - against each other, with the rest of the federation joining the in-game chatroom to watch the match and offer their opinions. It's a tremendously friendly community, which helps, but is also seething with well-meaning competitive spirit.
And this is just with less than a thousand people playing the Beta. My worries are few: I wish there was more involvement when you're outside of the game, as I've got a couple of emails at work telling me a player has been sold from my team. He was on the transfer list, fair enough, but the ability to somehow negotiate and have some involvement would be great. I also wonder how SI will manage the game world when, potentially, hundreds of thousands of people are playing, rather than a few hundred. Should be interesting.
P.S. Bethy Bee Rocks :D
Football Manager Live
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
I've been playing the Beta test for a couple of weeks now and have really begun to get into it.
For those of you who've not come into contact with FML, it's a game that could be one of the biggest MMORPG titles - I suppose that's the category it, technically, falls into - in the world.
It's like Football Manager, but online. Two of the best things in the world - football and it's fans - combined, rather than the solitary existence of a standard Football Manager game, only given a smidgen of interactivity by conversation on forums.
It's broadly the same, but simpler - more accessible and immediate - than the game on which it is based. Federations are formed, which run leagues and cups, all for prize money - so you join one that suits you, looking at their times of play, rules and regulations, and sign up. I'm part of the Casual Football Federation as they're quite lenient and let you play during the evenings, which is when I'll be logging on.
You can buy players, but the majority of trading is done in auctions, much like eBay, which results in some nerve-wracking final minutes as you fight with a few other managers for a player who could make or break your season. Teams are fully customisable, down to name, kits, stadiums and pitch sizes, and every player is real. Familiar faces are flung around unfamiliar teams, but the idea that each one has a committed manager - a real person - behind it soon creates a firm universe with which to play. Taking part in friendly matches, for instance, enables you to use the in-game chat window to talk with fellow managers, and you'll quickly begin to recognise teams, managers and their danger players.
Seasons last 20 days - plenty long enough for a full fixture of games, as you can let the AI handle some of them - and time to train your players, which is done by selecting a coaching topic and letting the game tick down until you've earned the badge. Which is a sleeker system than devising your own schedules, like previous games.
A new sesaon started yesterday - the fifth, I think, since the Beta begun - and the server crashed.
Bollocks.
For those of you who've not come into contact with FML, it's a game that could be one of the biggest MMORPG titles - I suppose that's the category it, technically, falls into - in the world.
It's like Football Manager, but online. Two of the best things in the world - football and it's fans - combined, rather than the solitary existence of a standard Football Manager game, only given a smidgen of interactivity by conversation on forums.
It's broadly the same, but simpler - more accessible and immediate - than the game on which it is based. Federations are formed, which run leagues and cups, all for prize money - so you join one that suits you, looking at their times of play, rules and regulations, and sign up. I'm part of the Casual Football Federation as they're quite lenient and let you play during the evenings, which is when I'll be logging on.
You can buy players, but the majority of trading is done in auctions, much like eBay, which results in some nerve-wracking final minutes as you fight with a few other managers for a player who could make or break your season. Teams are fully customisable, down to name, kits, stadiums and pitch sizes, and every player is real. Familiar faces are flung around unfamiliar teams, but the idea that each one has a committed manager - a real person - behind it soon creates a firm universe with which to play. Taking part in friendly matches, for instance, enables you to use the in-game chat window to talk with fellow managers, and you'll quickly begin to recognise teams, managers and their danger players.
Seasons last 20 days - plenty long enough for a full fixture of games, as you can let the AI handle some of them - and time to train your players, which is done by selecting a coaching topic and letting the game tick down until you've earned the badge. Which is a sleeker system than devising your own schedules, like previous games.
A new sesaon started yesterday - the fifth, I think, since the Beta begun - and the server crashed.
Bollocks.
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