SEO: Hats have been rebalanced

I don't have a ton of time today - just a quick update for you - items that were balanced today.

Helmy - 3 def
Eloff Helmet - 1 def
Pilotte - 4 acc
Pirate Hat - 1 eva, 0-1 damage, 1 cha
Lotus Helmet - 4 def
Kitty Hat - 1 eva
Hula Hula Hat - 1 eva
Gob Helm - 2 def 1 acc
Horned Gob Helm - 2 def 0-1 dmg
Golden Crown - 10 hp, 2 cha
Hat of Wonders - 3 wis, 1 eva
Pirate Cap - 5 hp, 1 acc, 1 eva, 1 cha
Pwep/Pwap - 50 hp, 1-2 dmg, 4 acc, 2 eva, 2 def, 1 str, 7 agi, 1 cha

Wikky

Wingo Hunt

Stava's EO - link on the right hand side. He's got a quest for the Wingo Mask. It requires the slaughter of 2,000 less than innocent Wingoes. (By the way - the proper spelling of the plural of Wingo includes the "e").

Challenge accepted. There are 17 wingoes that spawn per lap of the field. It takes about 5 minutes to make the lap and get the respawn. That's about a half-hour per hundred. 200 in an hour if you're uninterrupted. So 10 hours to finish the quest.

Now - I don't mind long quests like this. It's one of those chip-away deals that over the course of time can be accomplished without grinding it down. There are only two things I would say about it:

1. Not every quest should be a 10 hour grind. There have to be quests that you can do in a sitting. If you have to grind out every piece of equipment and every quest achievement then it gets boring real fast.

2. The end result of a 10 hour quest should recognize that an average player will take about 3 weeks to accomplish it. The reward for completing such a quest should be a 10 hour reward. Otherwise you lose your player on the #whydidiwastemytimeonthisshit

So note to Stava - as you're balancing for the future make sure you add in a solid mix of short quests - and make sure to balance your long ones to equal the effort.

Wikky

Working on the guides...

A rudimentary armour guide is available in the top menu. It's bare bones and I will have a more useful format available for you soon.

I spent 10 hours inputting data values so that I would have a workable database of items. The next step is stripping out graphics files, adding shop and crafting information, and dividing all the equipment into categories that will make them more useful to you. (for example - dividing equipment according to the class it would be most useful to).

There are invariably going to be data errors that come from manually inputting such a massive amount of similar numbers. Let me know when you find one and I'll be sure to have a look.

I'm striving to have them as up-to-date as possible. I'd also like to collect a database of quest guides. I'm going to create a Quests Page. If you would be so kind as to enter your quests in the comments for that page. 1 Quest per comment please.

Wikky

Why Endless-Online is Amazing

(A note of clarification - I do not refer to the current abomination that is the main server - it is not amazing. Stava's EO, however, has captured the spirit of what EO should have been).

There are few who have been around longer than me. I don't know whether that's good or bad. It is. I don't wear longevity as a badge of honour - it simply is what it is. I've stuck around for just under a decade.

There's a reason for that.

The reason is that Endless-Online has captured just the right amounts of "it" to be successful. It can be analyzed. Digitized. Metricized. I don't think it can be recreated in a formulaic fashion but there's a reason that 10 years after it's initial release - an incomplete game is still able to capture our imaginations and dominate our time.

If I were to deduce some of the variables I would start with its simplicity. Endless-Online was never too complicated. Walk and whack. But what makes it fun is that you do so in real time with very few systemic interjections. As a writer that offered a numbing escape to the emotional highs and lows of the creative process. I could grind out a level or chase a new item. A couple hours would pass but I didn't have to engage much of the thought process.

Then I'd look to the diversity of experience. Even though the game was not anywhere near complete it has always been varied in game play. Different PVP modes. Group hunting. Competitive farming and crafting. Even just hanging around where level, equipment, or ability had very little to do with whether you belonged. What you need when you need it.

Finally I'd suggest the community. Edgy. Accepting. Combative. Supportive. Young. Old. Wise. Foolish. Refreshing. Hip. Old School. Ugly. Beautiful. All of that. Of all the people I've encountered across pixels over the years - I've felt invested in them - a common bond - the unity of family that brings us together. I came back because there are people in this community that I will never meet - and yet they are important to me - where do you find that anywhere else. I've yet to find this experience anywhere else.

Endless-Online - as long as it holds on to these core values - will truly be that. Endless. Simple. Diverse. One. When I took a step back I missed it - not because it was addictive - but because it was important. You are important.

To me, anyways.

Wikky

Wordpress, how I hate you, let me count the ways...

Shooting myself in the foot to start out by starting with Wordpress. I have a bunch of author friends who swear by it and so I figured why not give it a shot with the revamped Report. Turns out my friends are a bunch of Mac using hippies who couldn't change the colour of their drapes without Steve Job's permission.

What a load of absolute bullshit. No iframes. No real access to template coding. Text editing options that rival WordPad at best.

Here's my advice. If you're looking for free blog hosting - go with the almighty Blogger. It took me 10 minutes to migrate the Report here.

With that is coming a name change for the whole thing. 

The Aeven Pub. 

A little touch of nostalgia and what I really hope this place will be. A place to come home to.

Thanks for being patient with me. The guides etc. I'll be implementing starting on Monday when I have some time off.

Something to entertain yourself with.

Newbies - by WickedFrost (A Lorde Parody) by Wickedfrost

Wikky

Beach Wood Sparks - Forget That Song

As promised it’s not all going to be Endless-Online stuff here. I’m going to give you little windows into the World of WickedFrost and one of those things you’re going to get from me is my absolute love for great music.  

Beachwood Sparks, for example. An alternative country band out of Cali on the Subpop Label. They’ve been putting out quality music for the past decade and their members were involved in some mildly successful projects through the 90s (like Strictly Ballroom who were completely underrated).

Forget That Song has a decidedly 90s retro feel with hints of Oasis, Radiohead and that sense of a mid-winter thaw where the darkest days are over and the spring is about to come.

Sit back and keep warm.

Back Where It All Began

I find myself trolling around the Skeleton Cave. A bit of a nostalgic rush to be back there since I spent so much time there in the early days of Endless-Online. Back then most people tended to stick to obvious places like the Reaper Cave. Nobody used to come to Skellies.

Except me. It was totally quiet. Newbs didn’t know how to get there. The drop rates for skellie parts and the 30 gold per made it very lucrative. And – how many of you got your dragon armour from me? I must have given out thousands.

So I’m having fun. Parts are needed for different crafts in Stava’s server. It’s quiet again.

Just me and the skellies.

SEO Guides are Coming

I will have a set of SEO guides available to you in about a week. If you’re looking for old EO guides for main you can find them at http://endlessonline.wikia.com/. I’m not going to work on those anymore since the main server is an abandoned ghost town.

SEO guides will take a bit of time to get all the data mined and formatted into web-ready content. The other challenge is that Stava is in the earliest stages of balancing and creating so a stable and definitive guide is a task next to impossible.

But I will do my best to put it all together for you. Weapons, armour, items, quests. I’ll work on a map as best I can – but I’m not an artist – so we’ll see what I’m able to come up with.

Have fun.

Wikky

Script Kids 'R Us

One of the shadowy subcultures that has emerged over the past decade is the growing number of script kiddies resorting to tremendously ham-fisted tactics to advance their own personal interests. Forget the subtle nuances of finding a glitch or exploiting a security flaw. Even the clever art of social manipulation to gain an edge requires an element of skill.

What remains are examples like this:

• Someone is getting all the kills because they’re better than me. Take down the server.
• The server owner won’t give me free stuff. Take down the server.
• I got owned on global chat. Take down the server.
• Someone else has a new server that’s better than mine and people are leaving. Take down the server.

You get the general refrain.

Let’s first forgive some of these folks who suffer from legitimate mental illness. This is a reality in life that not everyone is stable and the indy corners of the ‘net tend to provide a haven for those looking for an escape from their woes. There are a number of illnesses that might cause what looks like an immature and childlike reaction to perceived injustices.

For those who aren’t afflicted with the challenges of illness: shame on you. There are four-year-olds with more mature responses to not getting their way. You can rationalize it away with lame thoughts like “It’s online, it doesn’t matter.” or “I’m so awesome because I can mess with a few kids experimenting with some patchwork software on tiny little servers using ddos routines that I didn’t even write”.

Seriously. I know you’re likely not intelligent enough to think about the broader philosophical implications of what you are doing. Let me boil it down for you. You’re throwing a temper tantrum because you didn’t get your pixels. Your mom should have spanked you more.

In any event – grow up. Some of you are in your twenties. James.

The Endless-Online community is just that – a community – if you don’t want to be a part of it there’s always 4chan. Go there.

Wikky

Low Level Levelling

One of the fun things about Stava’s Endless-Online server is that everybody is starting fresh. There are, of course, a few grinders who are easily making their way to the top BUT! there’s plenty of room for everyone to have fun with the game.

(And there are no bots which makes a huge difference in the game play.)

Even with the extra room leveling on an EO based server is a relatively slow process. What I’d like to offer is, not a definitive guide, but some thoughts about low level leveling (which does have practical applications at higher levels).

Now there are a few considerations that need to be taken into account when figuring out your leveling strategy:

The first is your effective level. Your effective level is a combination of class, stats, and equipment. How much damage can you do? How much can you absorb? The reason this is important is that if you have a higher effective level you may have a more efficient path to experience through more difficult mobs. A lower effective level (for example, if you are playing a cleric style) means you will need to be more cautious. If you take 7 hits to kill a mob in one scenario and 3 in another then your experience/time ratio may be better even though, for example, sheep give less experience than carnivoes.

The second is your overall goal. Are you simply looking at experience and levels? Are you factoring in profitability as well? It may be the case that you are willing to sacrifice a little bit of efficiency because resource collection is also a priority.

The third is the boredom/competition factor. Grinding can be boring and let’s face it. We’re playing a game. If it’s just about a number then life is pretty sad. There needs to be a challenge for some of us – and, for others, it is good enough to simply sit in one place and grind. To each her own.

Case and point – three potential low level hunting areas. Peri Peri’s mole hunt. Carnivoes. Reaper Cave. At an effective level of 10 here’s how the math works out.

Peri Peri is the most efficient in terms of experience collection. You cannot beat the rate of return of 1250 experience every 4 1/2 minutes (until you reach higher levels). The drawback is that you get absolutely nothing in terms of resource collection. This is straight up experience grinding in the worst way. In addition – the moles have no bite or aggression – so the challenge level is 0. This is mindless experience farming but it works.

Carnivoes provide a decent rate of return though it is less than Peri Peri by roughly 8 percent. In order to max out efficiency you need to explore the whole map which means it receives a higher competition factor and the aggression of the carnivoes makes the experience enjoyable. With more players this can also decrease efficiency but increase competition factor. Carnivoes drop leaves at a relatively decent rate providing 60 gold per pop which isn’t going to make you rich but is better than nothing over time.

The Reaper Cave is an interesting comparison. You wouldn’t think so with Vyercil providing only 7 experience each. But when you factor in the spawn rate, speed, low hp, and the two reapers the experience drop off from Peri Peri is only 12 percent. Add into the equation the high profitability of the cave: the vyercil drop rate is much higher than carnivoes (at 50 gold per tentacle you can build up your stockpiles quickly) and the resale value for random reaper drops is very good. The competition factor is also at play here because the area will be more populated and at an EL of 10 you can die here without strategy and care.

Notice that all three locations have their costs and benefits that place them all in range of one another. There are other places that rank near to these (Ice Caves, Sheep, Desert) though they are less efficient from a purely mathematical inquiry. What is always good to see is the diversity of experience available for the SEO community especially at lower levels.

How about it? Where do you train in that under level 15 range? What factors do you consider when picking a site?

Comments below.

Wikky

The Return

Welcome back.

I don’t know if this is going to go anywhere. I’m waxing nostalgic and Endless-Online is one of those things you just don’t quit. So I’m going to blog a bit and we’ll see what happens with it.

A couple quick shout-outs.

First – to “The Remaining Endless-Online Society” – if you’re not there right now head on over at http://www.treos.org/ and hook up with the forums. There are familiar faces there, moderation is good, and if you’ve missed the old EO community – well they’re capturing it pretty well.

Second to Stava. The EO Main Server is still at http://www.endless-online.com/ but it’s filled with botters and account sellers. Stava’s got the best team together and I think he’s got a chance of developing something special there.  (http://treos.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=870)

And it wouldn’t be a blog without some actual content. This one is directed at anyone who is thinking about developing an MMORPG. A philosophy of sorts based on psychology, economics, and the ranting of your resident expert on these sorts of things.

So you wanna create an MMO…

Example: Storyboarding

Charaters level 0-4 (Newb tutorials)

What they need – positive first impression. a reason to care. basic game dynamics. some quick accomplishments to feel some positive self image. Something unique to let them stand out.

Time for the characters to be there: No more than 2 hours. Any more and they will leave.

Game begins: basic character creation is done – introduce the story. (cut scene? or! NPC interaction through the tutorial – YES! it will immerse in the story interactively). Character awakens in a dark cave. Dialogue box “You hear a voice from the outside – “I think someone is in there.” Dialogue 2 “<Move with arrow keys>”

Exiting the cave – the player will find two NPCs. Olga and Helga. They’re going to introduce the world…”after the necromancer came…” more on that later. Quests – 1. clothing 2. basic combat 3. first weapon 4. second combat 5. journey to town (LEVEL UP TO ONE BEFORE ARRIVAL). Time: 10 minutes…

Scene 2: Newbshire – level 1 quests. Meets NPC AIMEE at the gate. Quest: Ruined wool. (Collect 10 sheep wools) Experience for the quest 25 + ~ 20 for the sheep (50% drop rate, 1 exp each, 1 damage, 6 sheep respawn 30 seconds, keep it quick. no more than 10 minutes) Level 2 will be at 400 exp. This quest will be ~10% of level. (5 more quests to level 2).

And so on…

1. Successful MMO design begins by planning the experience
The catastrophic failure of most independent games happens because players have to think too much. And not in the right way. It’s one thing to ask: “How do I solve this?” and another to ask existential questions like: “What the fuck am I doing here?” If they’re asking question 2 then you’ve already failed.

You can have great art – a fantastic concept – an innovative design. You can have quests, and jobs, and pets, and guilds. You can expand and expand and expand. None of that matters if there isn’t a subtle narrative – an invisible driving force – a predestined will shepherding them into greener pastures.

MMO failure begins when the developer says “People are bored. Let’s build a castle. Castles are cool.” Instead of asking a question like – “Where do I want my level 10-15s to be, how many level 10-15s do I want in one place at one time and for how long do I want to keep them there.” The former creates a clusterfuck. The latter creates an experience that players are going to keep coming back for.

The key is storyboarding. This is the process of writing down a character’s story. This can be multifaceted – if you have multiple character classes, careers, karmic balances, etc. – then you have to write out a number of stories. But the point is this: you have to know what a player is going to go through before he or she goes through it. A good storyteller will make it feel like they’ve decided their own fate even though they haven’t – It seems counterintuitive in the MMO genre but players aren’t that smart and they don’t want to be. (See “What the fuck am I doing here?”)

2. Successful MMO design comes from economic planning

Hyperinflation and scarcity/overabundance of resources kill MMO worlds. If there is too much of something the market collapses and there is no retained value for later players. If there is too little or supply is held by those with higher levels and equipment there will be no growth from the bottom.

The economy needs to be carefully managed so that there is always something new to buy, ways to cash out that don’t require player interaction (limited pvp economies are good – free markets are bad). Make it easy to sell most things at a fair price back to the system. Keep stats so that you can adjust prices for balance. Make drop rates for some items based on a player’s level so that high level players have no economic motivation to “slum”.

(BTW – I’m always a fan of the “it only takes one lucky punch” system. A level 100 player against a level 1 goat, for example, put in a random critical strike for when the goat horn slices through a hole in the armour. <1% chance – but you could die and lose everything fighting mobs that are 20 levels below you.)

The economy should also be balanced to move people from place to place. Money, level, difficulty and story – they all go hand in hand to keep your people where you want them. A level 20 shouldn’t want level 10 items. A level 1 shouldn’t be able to get level 30 stuff.

3. Successful MMO design plans for volume

It’s easy to get caught up in the glory and revelry of hard-core players. They will worship you as long as you cater to them. They will not, however, pay the bills.

This seems counterintuitive but if you plan and build around them you’ll be stuck paying for a 30 person server forever. You’ll pixel yourself into a heart attack. The thing you love and want to share with the world will remain an obscure oddity.

But that guy who logs in 18 hours a day – to him you’re a god. Until he has everything – and demands that you make something new. You are the creator. He is not. Fuck that guy.

The majority MMO gamer spends between 3 and 5 hours a week on gaming. Plan around her (definitely her – she will spend real life money. He will not.) You want the pacing of the game to be geared around her life so that she wants to spend her precious spare time coming back.

You want to give her just enough to be satisfied. Leave her just a little frustrated to come back for some more. And then offer both rewards – and a few “real-life cash” solutions for those times when she’s stuck or wants to treat herself.

Balance between quick quest pacing – and longer involved ones for variety. Maybe the first 10 levels are quick quests – and then all of a sudden levels 10-14 are an epic tale that they get caught up in. Then a little grinding. Then back to some quick rewards. (this is useful advice elsewhere)

If you plan for this type of player your servers will go from 30 person indies to 300 person break-out successes. You can reward your hard core gamers in other ways – but ultimately let those selfish pricks moan on the WoW boards – they don’t really love you.

4. Successful MMO design builds a community

It does this by putting people in one place at one time. There is tremendous value in the central city. You do want to plan so that people get to experience new things – but you want to bring people back together.

PVP arenas, marketplaces, hangout spots, jobs, standard equipment, and some general quests. So that lower players can see where they might get to and higher players can have their egos stroked.

“Where’d you get those boots?” is one of the most important questions you’ll hear. Plan around it. There has to be a balance of coming and going. Old and new. It will keep folks coming back for more.

I’m going to leave it at that since we’re already in TL;DR territory. My focus is going to be on SEO related stuff but I’ll comment generally on things.

Comments below.

Keep it real.

Wikky