What would you do with a WoW Workshop?

Overwatch team announced Workshop, an editing tool for Overwatch which allow people to make maps and heroes, it gives Blizzard new ideas and content for the game, this is not the first time Blizzard did this.

Warcraft 3 have a world editor which can be used to make maps and even entire games, games like League of Legends started as Warcraft 3 mod, Warcraft and its mods still popular today and many stream it and watch these streams, so i hope the remastered version of it keep the world editor.

Now imagine WoW team release a WoW editor, what would you do with it? the idea is not hard to imagine, few MMOs have or had tools for players to make their own maps and quests or dungeons and the developer choose the best of these and put it in the game.

In fact i wonder why Blizzard didn’t do that yet? any video game with ability to modify the content or create it easily find a loyal base of players who make content for it and share it with others for free.

Now let’s imagine Blizzard made WoW Workshop, what would i do or at least try to do with it?

More quests, i wrote about this before, a variety of quests in each zone, crafting quests, fishing and cooking quests, dailies, bosses, world quests, bonus activities, basically the systems are in the game, just not in the old content, so bring them to old zones.

Class quests, i really wish they bring back these and add more, change them if they must, some old Classic quests require traveling around the world to learn a skill for some classes, maybe this is not a good idea for the current game … ok, change them so the players at low level don’t need to walk for days to just get a totem or durid form.

Solo dungeons, i’m not letting this idea go, there is no law says that dungeons should be a group content, each zone could have one solo dungeon, short one but provide some kind of challenge.

Inn activities, i feel sad every time i go to an inn to set my hearthstone, the place is full of wasted potential, imagine mini games, story telling, treasure or monster hunting start from there because some NPCs hints.

Long escort quests, i know … i really know, some or many people hate this kind of quests, but they are optional, every time i see Stormwind Traveling Merchant i wish he ask for protection while he travel to Stormwind, while he is in Stormwind he turn into a vendor providing some unique and cool items, then he goes back and in need of protection.

This remind me of Guild Wars 2 and some zones where you have to do this, a merchant travel and you just need to be around them to protect them and by the end of the mission you get experience.

Scale down and help low level players, i saw this idea in Everquest 2, high level players could play in a group with low level players, both get benefits and the content is still provide challenge because the high level player is scaled down.

Non combat PVP, why PVP should be all about killing each other? make it a competition for something, like the yearly event in Silithus where Horde and Alliance compete to put their flags on Ahn’qiraj for the rest of the year.

I’ll stop here, sometimes i wish WoW is totally different game but turning it into what i like may kill it for most players, Blizzard can’t make a game for everyone … anyway, that’s all 🙂

Anything but combat

In this Daily Grind; Mr. Olivetti asked about which MMO have most creative array of classes, so many MMOs have the same themes for classes, and that’s expected, it’s hard to come up with something totally unique and new, but after decades of video games any developer should try hard to come up with something different.

Most MMOs focus on combat as the main content, you play a character who go from level one to top level while killing all kind of things, solo or with a group, there are dungeons and raids, there are roles for each class, there is something called balance and people talk a lot about it when they are not happy with their favorite class.

There is gear, stats, loot and items, there is farming items and crafting gear, there are rewards for beating a dungeon or a raid, even achievements are made to encourage people to try a type of content … like defeating a boss in this difficulty will give you a mount.

If you remove combat and all related content from an MMO; what will remain from the game?

For me a creative class design will be something non-combat, a class where you can’t kill monstors! but this idea goes against most MMOs, it even goes against most video games, think about it … there is so much combat in video games, it became the thing that people expect, it’s like the air we breath, it’s there all the time, and you’ll notice its absence quickly.

The idea of non-combat class is part of my wish to see MMOs as worlds, a place where i can do variety of thing, anything but combat.

Don’t get me wrong, combat is fun, killing 100s of demons in Diablo 3 is so satisfying, but when games focus on combat as the main feature then they’ll all feel the same.

I want … no … i need to see a non-combat classes, where is the trader? the archeologist? the scientist or the engineer? where are the crafting classes? a scribe or a blacksmith class should be a thing in some games, and the game should provide as much content for them as they provide for the murder hobo classes.

I’m sure there are few games out there provide a non-combat class, or they design the game so some players can focus on crafting for other players, this is not enough for me, i want to see current games be brave enough to add this idea into their games, just imagine the next class for wow is a non-combat? this will be great and foolish, Blizzard is daring to make something different and they will pay for doing that!

I mean some people will love it, others will hate it so much, and the hater are always louder.

Moving back to Linux … step one

Back in 2005 i move to Ubuntu Linux and kept using it until 2010 when Ubuntu moved to a new interface called Unity,  at the same time my desktop of choice GNOME 2 moved to a new version GNOME 3 and it was totally different, i was upset about this change, i didn’t like it.

I moved to Mac, while it was a good machine i didn’t get used to the interface, then i moved back to Windows 8 and now i’m using Windows 10 and Windows 10 managed to make me hate it so much, i’m going back to Linux.

My main problem with Windows is this: i’m not in control of what Windows is doing, it download updates, scan the files for any virus, install the updates and then ask me to restart the machine now or later, it does all of that without asking permission first, so while i’m working or gaming windows decide to take 100% of the hard drive capacity, 80% of the RAM, the machine slow down and sometimes freeze.

This is unacceptable, and it makes me feel pissed off so much … i don’t want that, so i’m moving back to Linux which i think was a better OS back in 2005 and it is much better now, i was happy with it.

GNOME 2 became MATE, so i can go back to the interface i liked in Linux, first problem solved.

What about gaming? well … i think this video explain it very well:

More and more games support Linux, those are easy to install, the ones that does not support linux could be installed using ProtonDB, right now there are 4612 games work on Linux, and even if it is not supported by Proton there is a way to install games using WINE.

I was planning for this move to happen in the end of this year, but i can’t stand Windows any more … saying that, i’m not moving this week or next, but probably after 2 months, i want to do some stuff first.

The move could mean not playing WoW at all, but that’s ok, i started playing WoW with the idea of stopping at one point, Legion convinced me to keep playing, but i have to choose one point to stop and BFA is that point.

That’s all … i’m going back to Linux and i can’t wait for that.

Minecraft 1.14 is here

I haven’t played Minecraft for a long time now because i was waiting for 1.14 update, Mojang released it just 2 days ago, and it is a big patch, there is so many thing to cover here, Cubfan (well known Minecraft Youtuber) have 2 hours video just to show in detail what’s new in the game:

There are new blocks, new kind of villages and villagers and that’s what i find most exciting, because i like the adventure side of Minecraft more than the building, but i’m going to try learn how to build big projects.

What impress me most about Minecraft is this: i bought it in 2012 and to this day i still get free updates.

Lifeless Planet

Sometimes there are games  which you know they can be much better, Lifeless Planet is one of them, it feels like a game that need more work to make it better, need to cut some part of it to make it shorter and offer solid experience.

There is a story, a simple one and the game is a world where you uncover the story while walking around, solving puzzles and jumping around, the puzzles are simple, the environment gives you the feeling of lonely world and you are there alone, it’s a harsh world with alien life used to be there and you try to understand what’s going on.

The game kept me saying “if only they …” because the game i think will be much better if only they:

• Cut some walking in mostly empty spaces and make them shorter.
• Didn’t include some survival systems like looking for oxygen, that was unnecessary except once.
• Didn’t make it easy to die while falling, let the player hit the ground.
• Didn’t repeat same puzzles over and over.

I feel the game lack direction, as in the developer wanted to tell a story but didn’t focus on that and added some puzzles and jumping puzzles but even these are too simple, added some survival aspects but these too are too simple, the story is linear which is ok.

If only they focused on telling a story and made this game a walking simulator and focused on the story, i think the game will be much better.

Honestly i find the game now frustrating after finishing it, there is a wasted potential, the game could be much better.

Some screenshots from WoW

Playing Diablo was a good thing, playing one game no matter how fun it is can get old and i feel less motivated to keep going, so after killing endless demons in Diablo i went back to leveling a kul’tiran druid, in hope to reach Cataclysm zones soon.

Siege of Orgrimmar entrance, you can fish here!

A compass made of rocks?

Serpentshrine Cavern entrance, you can fish here too!

Sometimes i dream of Qiraji allied race!

In Broken Shore, a women made of wood!

Seriously!

Ok so you need stuff … but why this “stuff”?!

Friendly tavern fight.

Troll ruins in Stranglethorn Vale sea .. how many players see this place these days?

Kul’tiran flying form … i love it

Last screenshot is a funny story, i reached level 60 with the druid, so i choose Northrend for leveling, in Stormwind Harbor i took the ship to Borean Tundra, the ship sailed and the loading screen started loading content then boom … i’m in front of Altrec Valley battle ground entrance!

I was so confused! no idea what happened, i wrote a bug report then took flight point to Stormwind, this time i took a portal to Dalaran.

Diablo Transmog is better!

You see a crusader in his white gear set and a creepy doll pet, black axe and white shield because i could not find good black shield.

Let’s talk Diablo 3 transmog, the game have no type of armor, but one piece of armor will look different depending on what class you play, take for example Astral Mail, chest armor that have 7 different designs.

You unlook the look of any piece by getting that armor piece or a weapon, you can unlock item looks even if your character can’t use them.

You can change the colors of your armor, there are many dyes to choose from and they help to make the gear match in color at least.

Now this last point is the most important, because so many players want to see dye-able armor sets in WoW, Blizzard can add this idea in a new expansion without touching the old gear, they don’t need to work on all old items, just add new items that allow players to change their colors.

Blizzard can make this idea better by making professions as the only source for the new transmog gear and dyes.

Level squish alternatives

Coming back for 10% xp

So many posts and articles written about the subject, many agree that level squish is not a good idea or not the only way, Blizzard will add levels in next expansions so the problem will come back again.

Stat squish was a thing back in Warlords of Draenor, and just two expansion later it happened again with item level squish, and Blizzard will have to do this again sometimes in the future.

There are many ways to solve the problem, i read all kind of ideas people wrote or talked about in videos and podcasts, so i’ll try to make this short and not repeat what people already said.

Don’t add more levels, there are different ways to add leveling, item level in WoW, Paragon levels in Diablo 3, Mastery leveling in Guild Wars 2.

Add items to speed up leveling, there used to be items drop from mobs that will give the player 300% XP gain for an hour or 15 minutes, if the goal is to reach top level then speed up the process for people who already did that.

Guild Wars 2 have XP buffs from cooking food so you always buy it or cook it yourself, there are items add good chunk of XP or even a whole level.

If someone have already top level character then give the alt XP buffs, more alts on top level? more XP gained.

Make leveling fun, now this one is easy to say but define fun, and how it will look like in WoW? for me i’m always looking for stuff to do other than questing and dungeons, Guild Wars 2 type of leveling is fun since it’s not questing but feels like World Quests, you are always moving around doing stuff.

The idea here is: leveling is boring, and you have to do it for 120 levels so the game open up for you and you can do many things other than questing and dungeons, at level 20 (as allied race) the game does not offer much, and with scaling you have to out-level a whole expansion by 10 levels to just go back for farming dungeons and raids.

Also some events are top level only, like the recent event for PVP against AI.

So make leveling fun, or make it faster, i prefer the first one, if i’m having fun then there is no need to speed up and reach top level.

 

Diablo 3 Season 16: done!

That was much easier than i thought, i started a fresh character, a crusader and he is the only character i have, i’m starting from zero here, so leveling a new character to 70 needs sometimes, then gearing up and trying to finish 4 chapters for the season.

The rewards are an item/transmog set called Seeker of the Light, a butterfly wings and a portrait frame, by doing what is essentially a to-do list for each chapter you get all the rewards by finishing the 4th chapter, you can join the 5th optional chapter for another portrait frame but that one is for hardcore players … not for me.

I had a hard time trying to find better gear and changing my skills, today i got lucky by getting some legendary flail and a shield which allowed me to use a powerful skill without cooldown or resources, it was overpowered that it kills bosses in few seconds.

It took me few Nephalem Rifts to get these items, also i got a legendary gem which give me more gold so i use that for gold farming, but i still need to farm gold because combining gems costs millions of gold and takes all what i have.

Anyway, i’ll keep playing Diablo, waiting for the next season which may not be far from now.

What i’m playing?

I didn’t play WoW for a while now, thanks to being easily distracted, but not complaining here, it’s good to take a break from the endless leveling grind in WoW.

Diabol 3, reached level 70, done 3 chapters of the season and i need the 4th to get all the rewards, started to understand how the game works, there is always need for gold so i looked for guides and the D3 community writing guides for itself, i mean they forget that some people are just starting and the whole guide forget to mention that you need to get these things before reading the guide.

Anyway, the game is tons of fun, which makes me wish WoW have some kind of different game play to level alts, something other than questing and dungeons.

Guild Wars, the first one not 2, i haven’t played it much, just made a character, did few quests, the game is old and they stopped developing content for it but they still maintain it and there are people who still play it.

Lifeless Planet, it’s 70% off in steam so i bought it, interesting game, i’ll write about it when i finish it.

Guild Wars 2 Super Adventure Box, this one is fun to play for 10 minutes at a time, it needs grinding like all MMOs content, to get any rewards i mean.