One of the worst kept MMO secrets has finally been put out into the open: Cryptic has announced Neverwinter. Not Neverwinter Online (although the acronym NO would have been an interesting choice), but just… Neverwinter. It’s going to be a non-MMO called an online multiplayer game (or OMG, which is just a disgrace) with the … Continue reading
Tagged with Cryptic Studios …
Did Bill Roper Get A Golden Handshake?
This is me combining two different bits of information that may actually not be related. Bill Roper is leaving Cryptic Studios. He joined as the Executive Producer on Champions Online before being promoted into the role of Chief Creative Officer. Roper claims he’s leaving to explore new opportunities. Back when Infogrammes / Atari bought Cryptic, … Continue reading
Someone Tries To Explain the Champion Online Gear and Stats System
Someone tries to explain the way stats and gear interacts in Champions Online. Good on them. I’ve been playing ChampO since alpha (before gear and stats!) and I have never understood it. Casual games can certainly benefit from a “easy to pick up, hard to master” mentality, but ChampO seems to have an “easy to … Continue reading
Champions Online and the Second System Effect
Having played Champions Online to a middish-level point and based off my 6 odd years of experience in playing City of Heroes / Villains, I’m starting to get a very clear idea of how much the second systems effect burdens ChampO. It’s obvious that when Cryptic tried to improve on CoH/V and add in numerous … Continue reading
Catching Up: Employment Moves and Console Non-Moves
Two interesting things I saw recently: 1) Cryptic bows out of trying to get either Champions Online or Star Trek Online onto consoles. There are some out there who saw these moves as vindication that Cryptic is a horrible company who deserves to fail, but it is probably more a case of Microsoft being incredibly … Continue reading
‘Tis the Season For Replacement, Apparently
Bill Roper moves on from being the Executive Producer on Champions Online to other projects within Cryptic. He is replaced by long-term Cryptic man Shannon Posniewski, also known as Poz. It’s an interesting move and one I take as a strong indicator that Cryptic either 1) has another MMO in development that they want an … Continue reading
The Laziest Star Trek Online Review EVAH.
It belongs to The Independent. Let’s review the review (so it’s fair use for me c’n’p it below): “The launch of a MMO is always beset with woes. Glitches, lags, server meltdowns and unfavourable comparisons to World of Warcraft tend to be the norm, and Star Trek Online is no exception. Despite the hiccups, though, … Continue reading
One Simple Step To Becoming The Hero of the Revolution
Get your head chopped off. The sudden disappearance of Daeke from the Champions Online forums, followed by the announcement that he’d “moved on to other things” was an interesting set of events. Not because Cryptic saw another Community Manager pass through ChampO – they’ve had Sporkfire, IronAngel, Kestrel, Awen (popped up but mainly Star Trek … Continue reading
Star Trek Online Overview (Now That the NDA is Gone)
I’ve been beta testing Star Trek Online as best I could, given time zone differences and game stability problems. Here’s my opinion at this point: Conclusion: – An “action Trek” rather than a “diplomacy Trek” that is probably Trek enough for most people. It’s a bit light on, but fun enough. – In a better … Continue reading
Trivial Things I Hope Don’t Happen In 2010
Star Trek Online launches too early. I know I’m going to be disappointed here. Cryptic Studios announces another title in development. Seriously, work with the ones you’ve got for 12 months. The “Barbarella” remake happens. Dear me, but I HATE that movie so much. “Iron Man 2” isn’t as good as the first one. It … Continue reading
World Class Villains 