If anyone's been keeping up with my various forays into the MMOFPS genre, then you may recall that, while I'm quite fond of this MMO style, I still have yet to see it fully implemented in a satisfactory way. The game that could possibly come closest to fulfilling my MMOFPS desires is, sadly enough, SOE's highly potential but largely ignored Planetside, and that game has not, unfortunately, aged well-especially given that it was released almost seven years ago and has not been updated within at least five of those years. One MMOFPS that I was fond of, but am ashamed to admit to (because it had the shallowness of a puddle), was Flagship Studio's Hellgate: London, and I suspect it mostly had to with the fact that I'm addicted to purple weapons, and I adore procedurally generated loot (which really just translates to lots of random chances at purple weapons).

Either way, enter Gearbox Software's Borderlands, an MOFPS (it's not quite 'massively' in its multiplayer content) that has probably done one of the best jobs thus far in blending the progressive gear-based nature of MMORPGs with the action-packed shooting style of first person shooters. A few days ago, Josh "Waxpaper" Bashara gave you a solid introduction to his first impressions with Borderlands as a game, so today I'll give you all a tour through the multiplayer aspects of Borderlands, as well as let you know why this game sets a pretty significant standard next to which aspiring MMOFPS developers can compare their in-development games..

Stigmas are very common in the MMORPG industry, especially if you've been playing in this field for as long as I have. For example, World of Warcraft has commonly been associated with being "too easy" in the eyes of some MMOers, while Final Fantasy XI has that (somewhat deserved) stigma of being a bit complicated and a bit slow (and a lot of frustration!) in the eyes of other gamers. Of all of these prevailing stigmas that have been floating around for quite some time, however, Funcom and their enduring-despite-the-odds MMO, Age of Conan may have gotten the shortest stick of them all, having been stuck with one stigma that has virtually defined their game in the eyes of gamers and journalists alike (guilty!); that of having one of the worst MMO launches in a long, long time.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with gaming stigmas, especially ones like AoC's, is that companies tend to run into giant brick walls when they try to work their way out of the muck that they've found themselves in. Here at ZAM, we chatted with Craig Morrison, Producer and Director of Age of Conan about the problematic launch of the game, and we've already done some heavy coverage on just what went wrong, but, on the alternative side, I think a lot of the general populace doesn't realize just how dedicated Funcom is to their ailing MMORPG, and just how far this game has grown beyond its inhibiting stereotype. We here at ZAM decided that, with their newest "Rise of the Godslayer" expansion announced and in development, now would be a perfect time to check out Age of Conan and find out what everyone's missing out on. Read on for Part I of II of our revisit to the Hyborian Kingdoms!

Gates of Andaron may have launched only three months ago, but the new 3D fantasy MMO should look familiar to fans of the free-to-play genre. No, it's not a copycat (although comparisons to World of Warcraft could always be made), but is, in fact, the North American version of 4Story. Gameforge has brought Zemi Interactive's global game to a Western audience with a simple name change, in an attempt to recruit more players to join the war between the nations of Valorian and Derion. Actually, 4Story players will know them as the rival kingdoms of Craxion and DeFugel. Oh crap, this is getting too confusing.

Alright, let me back up a bit. Gates of Andaron is a game about war. Players side with either the military state of Valorian or the magical realm of Derion to battle for supremacy in Iberia. In 4Story, Craxion and DeFugel fight to control Iveria. Basically, think of it as if 4Story entered the Witness Protection Program, changed all of its names and moved to the United States to start a new life. Assassins became Night Walkers, Summoners switched to Evocators, and none of the parties involved could ever contact their families again.

This week was a big one for about 90 percent of all computer users. That is to say; 90 percent of those computers users are running Microsoft's Windows operating system, as opposed to an Apple or Linux OS. And unless you've been living in a cave lately, you've heard that Windows 7, the highly-anticipated next-generation OS from Microsoft launched last week, with record-breaking sales. But what does this mean for gamers? Specifically, as an MMO gamer, is Windows 7 something you should be interested in, if given the choice? Is it really worth shelling out the cash for Microsoft's newest OS, when your copy of XP or Vista seems to run your MMOs just fine?

The short answer is yes; there are incentives to upgrade. Of course, as any level-headed consumer, you should do a little research and weigh the pros and cons, especially as they apply to your personal computing experience. Since most of us don't use our PCs exclusively to play MMOs, there are other factors (productivity, for example) to consider. But for an MMO gamer, Windows 7 does offer improvements and benefits from the aging XP operating system, if your hardware can support it. Users of the newer Vista OS will also notice improvements, as Windows 7 is its natural successor, or "what Vista should have been in the first place," as many have said. Let's take a look at the viability of upgrading to Windows 7 and, more importantly, why it matters to fans of the MMO genre.

When it comes to Asia, the video game industry is absolutely huge. Here in the U.S., you can't walk into kid's bedroom without seeing at least one toy or comic book based on an Asian video game property. In a similar fashion to Japan's widespread video game export of the late 80s and early 90s, the last decade has seen China and South Korea climb their way to the top of the MMO industry.

Business in China, specifically, is booming right now. Whether it's revenue coming in from monthly subscriptions, micro-transactions or the ubiquitous virtual currency like Q Coins, China's online gaming industry raked in almost $1 billion USD its second quarter, a 39.5 percent increase from last year's earnings. In total, China's online gaming industry expects to earn up to 27 billion yuan, or $4.0 billion USD, by the end of its fiscal year, according to GamePolitics.

Despite all that success, the PRC is dealing with some serious issues, both inside and out of its borders. There's a civil war going on between two of China's government agencies; both locked in a power struggle for control over regulatory duties, leaving fans of MMOs like World of Warcraft caught in the crossfire. The country's strict censorship doesn't appear to be loosening anytime soon, either, making it more difficult for even the most mild-mannered games to get into the hands of Chinese gamers.

The announcement that the latest Legends of Norrath expansion, Travelers, would include a loot card for EQ and EQII that will give an in-game quest for access to a limited zone caused quite a stir. Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, EQII Senior Producer and Christie "Kiara" Renzetti, EQII Community Manager, were quick to try and assuage everyone's fears that this heralded the beginnings of "Pay to Play" content above and beyond subscriptions, but the overwhelming question has been "what's the loot like?"

Well, the expansion launched yesterday and the loot has been seen. The loot card itself seems to be quite rare. One player reports having spent $200 on LoN cards thus far and not gotten the key. But it's out there, and the reports on the zone and loot are starting to trickle in.

Seems a lot of players are unhappy. Some are heralding the beginning of the end as the loot from the EQII zone is comparable to higher-end x2 raid loot. Others feel that the zone is a rip-off, being a copy of the last room of Obelisk of Ahkzul with four nameds and a boss, and it requires a group. Still others feel the loot is Legendary junk and not worth all the hype. Over at EQ2Wire, Feldon feels this precedent legitimizes the purchase of gear with real money, and is concerned that the slippery RMT slope so many players worried about with the introduction of Live Gamer servers, LoN, and Station Cash has indeed become significantly steeper.

A few months back, I wrote an editorial about Blizzard's new "post-Lich King" trend of releasing new content quicker than ever before. Despite the controversy and various player issues resulting from the company's new release standard, I believe it ultimately offers the community more good than bad. However, I recently came across the post, "Does new content outdate too fast?" at Tobold's MMORPG Blog, which gave me pause. Tobold received a letter from a casual World of Warcraft player who feels left in the dust; the speed of new endgame content—specifically dungeons like Ulduar, Trial of the Grand Crusader and now the new Onyxia raid—is just too fast for some players.

Most hardcore raiders would contend that, in this case, the good outweighs the bad. Even many casual raiders, including me, agree that new content is a good thing; regardless of how overwhelming it can be for people without the time to "just put their head down and do it." But there are other factors to consider, too. For example, what about casual raiders who can't find players willing to run through the 10-player, let alone the 25-player, versions of these dungeons because they don't have anything to gain? Even if an older raid dungeon still houses one or two pieces of gear that offers an upgrade, why not run the newest raid instead, which offers better odds of getting stronger gear?

For the past few years in MMO development, one of the biggest challenges that has faced new developers has been the awkward issue of judging the proper time to release an MMORPG-on time (or even early!) versus spending more of that time (and money) to polish their game up to even higher standards.

About four months ago, I wrote an editorial praising two companies that heeded the warning of MMORPG ghosts (I'm looking at you Warhammer!) from the past, and chose to push their release dates back in order to make sure that they were giving their projects a little more time to grow. One of those companies was Cryptic, and their project was Champions Online-a game which, to their credit, did improve by leaps and bounds over the few extra months they decided to give it. This extra time, however, couldn't save the developers from having to make significant changes (including a significant increase to the difficulty of the game) a few weeks after launch, and, even now, players are still scrambling to find enough questing content in the upper levelling bracket to reach the level cap.

The other company that I praised was NetDevil, the creators of Jumpgate Evolution, and the guys who are still hard at work polishing and improving their game with no regard for the problematic beast they call the deadline (their scheduled release date is currently unknown, but Q1 2010 is a good guess). Curious as to the current state of this sci-fi MMORPG, we here at ZAM decided to call Scott Brown, CEO of NetDevil, to find out if Jumpgate Evolution will be one of the few MMORPGs to really experience that mythical "smooth launch" status.

Final Fantasy XIV, like its predecessor, is going to use servers that mix players from regions around the world.  While many players enjoy playing with people from all walks of life, sometimes language barriers and cultural differences can disrupt an otherwise fun adventure.  To help start off on the right foot, Manner Mode presents short, easy-to-digest lessons that can be used without extensive Japanese knowledge so players can help make Final Fantasy XIV a more pleasant experience for all.

すみません

sumimasen

"Sumimasen" is the perfect opening to any request you may place upon another player.  it is most often translated as "excuse me" or "sorry."  You can use it to ask a favor, "Excuse me, but..."; apologize for a mistake, "Sorry"; or thank someone, "Sorry for troubling you."

Many Japanese players understand basic English, but sticking "sumimasen" on the beginning of a question or request can go a long way.  It may seem arrogant on their part, as if you are forced to put in the extra effort to be polite, but from their perspective it seems like you are being intentionally rude if you do not use it.  If you do not open your request by indicating you are asking for someone's time and effort, it feels like you are bossing people around.

Usage: "sumimasen, /check OK?"  ,  "sumimasen, Raise please."

after a mistake/accident: "sumimasen sorry :( "

Have you ever used "sumimasen" in the past?  What are effective ways to ask for information or favors in other languages?  Discuss on the ZAM forums!

During a special press conference at the 2009 EVE Fanfest we were able to see a live gameplay demonstration of DUST 514, which is an FPS and strategy game set within the EVE universe. The game is set in the same universe as EVE Online but the two are fundamentally different in that DUST 514 takes place on individual planets. Players can expect a persistent universe where every battle is significant and every player will make meaningful decisions that helps to determine the outcome of the individual battles and the state of both games overall.

CCP expects that the two online experiences will compliment each other and that players will have plenty of reason to work together between games. EVE and DUST 514 will be linked using phased implementation strategies at specific stages during the development lifecycle of the two products. To clarify, EVE Online will in no way be dependant on the success of DUST 514 at launch, but as the games evolve, CCP will continue to build the two products so that players will work together even more.