Oh no?! Why do people expect a game to be perfect in beta? Grow up people.
Try reading. I'd say there are few, if any, people here complaining about bugs. Flawless programming means nothing when the gameplay is stale and boring.
Most people I read mentioned getting shot through solid objects. Not only did this rarely happen to me, it is a pretty simple coding problem I imagine and isn't as game breaking as people say.
collision detection is no way a simple coding problem
Have to agree with Miagisan here. Collision detection is a big deal, and can be game-breaking for many. Getting shot through walls, floors, objects etc. is a real pain in the arse, and according to some developers is not an easy fix. It's an important fix though, and I hope they get on it before this goes live.
Also, thanks Miagisan for a very thorough critique. It was a good read.
Oh no?! Why do people expect a game to be perfect in beta? Grow up people.
Reading through the responses in this thread, as well as my own experience, i'd say the overwhelming majority of complaints are about the game design, not the bugs.
Way to single out one comment out of dozens.
*Gives up on getting some sense out of this thread.*
Leo, I just reread every response in this thread. Only 3 postsout of 18 when you originally posted (including the one I quoted originally) mention bugs, the collision detection specifically. What's to make sense of? The biggest complaint is the game itself.
I think it's a shame they decided to go the monthly fee route for this game, in my opinion that decision will hurt this game. To me it seemed like nothing more than a sci-fi GuildWars - in both graphics and gameplay. Even without looking into it myself I can say I'm fairly certain they used the same engine. While it was OK for a short while to me, it got kind of boring pretty fast and I just can't see this game working with a monthly fee pricing model. In mt opinion they should have done it just like GW, since everything but the setting is pretty much the same. /shrug
"Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with him." - Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce
I agree. I've been in beta for about 6 months and after my first couple play times I came to a conclusion.
This game really does feel alot like Auto Assault in its execution.
The graphics are good, and the gameplay is a neat new idea, it's something that's different than most MMOs and it really has that almost 'arcadey' feel to it. The problem though is that the game lacks any real depth. In 10 levels you'll be doing basically the same thing that you did at level 1, and that everyone else is doing. It's just alot of standing and shooting. Now maybe instead of shooting a rifle you're shooting lightning or throwing grenades or releasing smart mines, but in the end you're still basically just flinging projectiles at an enemy.
The other problem is that everyone gets the use of the logos, so they don't feel special at all. If there was perhaps a second branch in the "class tree" and only that branch got to use the logos, and they specialized with it, it would feel more like you could differentiate yourself from other people. The reason they didn't do that though is the fact that the logos seems to be their only real concurrent piece of story. If you don't have the whole logos collecting thing, then you really don't have any story that I've found.
Sadly, I don't think this game is going to do well at all. Like AutoAssault, it's a neat idea, and I want to like the game, but the execution of the gameplay is simply not there. There's nothing to draw you in.
Kudos to NCSoft for trying new things and getting out of the tired fantasy model, but they need to make these games with a depth of gameplay that makes people enjoy it.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
loads of bullshit reviews and comments based on beta software really. dont know , but lot of you people really had the wrong expectations about this game. and let me just say , youll not find any other game in near future that will satisfy you.
TR is what it is, a solid mmog. it has some unique nice features, its good in some aspects and bad in others.
combat:
is shooter like, you can adjust a "sticky target timer" which helps slow people like me and helps to stay on targets in crowds. if you set this to 0 its like a fps shooter, if set to full its "sticky target". you can still make a target sticky in fps setting with tab (good for long distance sniping). you got to point at least a bit near your target to hit it when its marked.
also when targeting watch the reticule, when its inside and full on your target you do full damage, you target faster when crouched. weapons work best at their named distance (e.g. rifle = 60m, pistol 20m ...)
duck&cover wasnt working 100% for the last few patches, it was working in early beta and should be ok with this weeks patch. this is a unique feature (unlike LOS avoid cheats or safe spots in other games).
and yes npc targeting was buggy the last 3 patches and they were shooting through walls (its beta you know).
you dont really have ability timers, you dont have to check your UI every few seconds, no castbars.
fast paced and loads of fun if you master it with different classes. different ways to fight, it depending on your chars skills, abilities and weapon choices.
different weapons have different side effects that can add to your strategy (fire,sonic,ice ..)
you get some stuff at lvl 30 that can completly change your playstyle. e.g. train guardian from commando skilltree, get a staff, charge attack and a good aoe dmg logo (pure fun combo).
the story:
easy good human vs bad alien, enough said. few side things (ehlo race, logos, cormans) but thats it. parts are explained in the mission texts, its all there. few things you find out yourself while doing the missions and instances, or talk to npcs with a white sign over their heads.
missions:
kill x, deliver x, recon y, find x, get x to y, place bomb at y ... like in every other game. few longer and deeper questlines combined with instances at the end. few missions with choices at some part. the missions fit the scenario. pretty much what other games offer
crafting was a placeholder until 2 patches ago and id only checked few things:
enhancing weapons + armor , crafting color for armor, medipacks etc.
gfx:
needs a good machine, but check maximum and ultra settings. it looks really great. some cards still have problems (beta doh). the effects are fitting the scenario and not cheap, its different from fantasy (e.g. see netgun screenshots), if you start glowing in a warzone, banes will pop your head.
instanced:
parts of the world are divided in subzones. but think about it, you could not have 1000 npc soldiers fighting next to you. later zones are busy with dropships and soldiers,mechs fighting all the time.
the mission instances just rock. e.g. treeback in palisades :
you enter and are asked to free some computer terminal (you get 2 npcs to help you).
your asked to open some forcefield (fight your way to some terminal and press switch), after your done reinforcements come into the valley
your asked to destroy some radar stuff placed around the hills around that valley, then meet with some npc (he comes in with a dropship)
then kill few bosses and deliver their heads
kill endboss, 1 more sidequest with dogs
few others i cant remember
all this while the afs squads fight their way into the valley. and you can choose to stay with them and just fight stuff
its 100% not boring, guess people like wow instances with 3-5 mobs waiting around every corner better. and this is one of many interesting instances (3rd zone ~lvl 20, you got 3 in zone 1, 3(4?) in zone 2).
in 1st zone people should visit is praveus research,it just rocks and gives a soldier feeling right away.
mobs:
now its a bit limited, but imagine the other sides position, they fight humans all day. but this is a problem that all mmos have. youll see interesting mobs later on in TR, 1st 3 zones dont have many different. all have immunities and vulnerabilities. you can kick frozen mobs to ice cubes, kicking a "dying" mob gives extra XP.
lies:
now someone wrote: "toons are visually identical for the most part", you must be blind seriously. "no emotes" , damn your blind or ignorant. "social centers" is where people make them, its there, just people dont use them (yet). "12 different customization options" you cant count (and more were added just this week, some are not revealed yet its for the CE pack).
PS: dont get me wrong, there are loads of unpolished things still in TR (thats why later zones are closed again atm but belief me they are great fun), and like with every game, it will not please everyone. but such half-assed reviews of ignorant people, complaining about not spoon-feed every little aspect of content ("omg i have to go explore a world ?") makes me sick. THEN ITS BETA , would it hurt to read the Readme.txt that was installed ? or visit the BETA Forum to see a list of settings, known problems, general information, key commands, emotes ... beta leechers are dumb. its a complex game, but fun and rewarding once you learned how things work.
LOL to previous poster. Im happy for you that you like a extremely simplistic, straight forward, hack and slash shootem up MMO without any storyline, any form of depth. As that's what Tabula Rasa is.
The incredible storyline, the depth you would been drawn into, the complexity ..all things what Richard Garriot promissed is just not there!
The crafting system is broken and utterly useless. It doesn't add anything to the game nor gives you any unique nor better quality items. Its just a lame money sink feature in its current state. Crafting without any form of trading system and/or auction system is really useless anyway. As that's another thing Tabula Rasa totally lacks!!
The tutorial is just plain awesome. Im not going into the details as I dont want to spoil the fun for people that want to try it. But just after you get out of the tutorial and land in the game world ...after you pickup the first quest ...its like a terrible wakeup call. At that moment you start getting the feeling whats coming to you: "a straight forward, boring repetitive, story lacking, mission grind". As thats what you getting!
The logo's system, except for unlocking some abilities, has absolutely no real meaning in the game. A totally missed opportunity to add some form of depth and storyline to the game it so desperately needs!! Just a waste the way they implemented it Real shame!
Also the regular exploration zones are heavily instanced like they did with D&D online. Just terrible and a way to destroy any sence of community!
The instances so far look pretty cool and are fun in a way, but it just lacks complexity and a true need of strategy to really work as a team. So far everyone picks a mission and runs forward blasting or electrocuting (logo power) everything whats in its way! The exact same thing you do outside the instances, only now you dont have to worry about kill stealing!
Sure its still beta, but its the end of beta! Dont forget that! I have been in too many beta's and can tell you that at this moment you wont have to expect a massive, huge, extraordinary, WOW magic miracle patch that is going to fix all that what is missing and wrong in this game!
With all the competition out there, bringing out half finished MMO's, expecting players to pay 50 euros for the game and then start paying monthly fees of 15 euro and patiently waiting a year or two till the game gets into a state it should have been ....well my friends. Those days are over!!
LOL to previous poster. Im happy for you that you like a extremely simplistic, straight forward, hack and slash shootem up MMO without any storyline, any form of depth. As that's what Tabula Rasa is. The incredible storyline, the depth you would been drawn into, the complexity ..all things what Richard Garriot promissed is just not there! The crafting system is broken and utterly useless. It doesn't add anything to the game nor gives you any unique nor better quality items. Its just a lame money sink feature in its current state. Crafting without any form of trading system and/or auction system is really useless anyway. As that's another thing Tabula Rasa totally lacks!! The tutorial is just plain awesome. Im not going into the details as I dont want to spoil the fun for people that want to try it. But just after you get out of the tutorial and land in the game world ...after you pickup the first quest ...its like a terrible wakeup call. At that moment you start getting the feeling whats coming to you: "a straight forward, boring repetitive, story lacking, mission grind". As thats what you getting! The logo's system, except for unlocking some abilities, has absolutely no real meaning in the game. A totally missed opportunity to add some form of depth and storyline to the game it so desperately needs!! Just a waste the way they implemented it Real shame! Also the regular exploration zones are heavily instanced like they did with D&D online. Just terrible and a way to destroy any sence of community! The instances so far look pretty cool and are fun in a way, but it just lacks complexity and a true need of strategy to really work as a team. So far everyone picks a mission and runs forward blasting or electrocuting (logo power) everything whats in its way! The exact same thing you do outside the instances, only now you dont have to worry about kill stealing! Sure its still beta, but its the end of beta! Dont forget that! I have been in too many beta's and can tell you that at this moment you wont have to expect a massive, huge, extraordinary, WOW magic miracle patch that is going to fix all that what is missing and wrong in this game! With all the competition out there, bringing out half finished MMO's, expecting players to pay 50 euros for the game and then start paying monthly fees of 15 euro and patiently waiting a year or two till the game gets into a state it should have been ....well my friends. Those days are over!!
Highlighted in red is what invalidates your entire post. Starting a counter-point with the logical fallacy known as the argumentum ad hominem renders everything that you said useless to anyone.
Try again, without attacking someone personally to give your argument weight.
My own experience with TR (now that the NDA is lifted) is that I actually have enjoyed my time there so far. Admittedly, I've only logged about 10 hours of total gameplay time, and the fun-factor may fade after a while. I enjoy the TPS-based gameplay, and I honestly am not sure what people are talking about when they say that it's "too easy"... last time I played, I made one wrong move and my partner got himself whacked by an Overseer.
The game is okay solo. Grouping is much more fun, although it seems to be difficult to find groups at this point in the game for overland play. They've solved the shooting-through-walls bugs (squashed it a couple of patches ago, for all those who quit because of it) and in general the instances are great fun. The quests that come over the radio inside the instances are a nice touch.
I like the graphics and the art style. Everything blends well artistically, in my opinion. I run the game on the High graphics settings, and things look good. They're not amazing, but they look good. I don't experience too much slowdown, and my computer is a bit outdated (2.8 GhZ Pentium D, Radeon X800XL, 2 GB RAM). I imagine that I get an average of 20-25 frames per second, which is plenty for the gameplay style.
So far it's a nice departure from the standard fantasy game for me. I don't know how long I'd play it for in its current state, however. I, too, am looking for a world to spend my time in like I used to in Asheron's Call, but I haven't found it here. That does not mean that I hate Tabula Rasa, but I admit that I was hoping for more from Richard Garriott.
I think the major problem here is expectations. Once again, as with Vanguard, everyone looked to TR to be this amazing, revolutionary, once-in-a-lifetime game. You guys really should stop looking for every game to be the second coming. You'd be a lot less disappointed that way.
--------
"Give a man a fire, and he is warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life."
LOL to previous poster. Im happy for you that you like a extremely simplistic, straight forward, hack and slash shootem up MMO without any storyline, any form of depth. As that's what Tabula Rasa is. The incredible storyline, the depth you would been drawn into, the complexity ..all things what Richard Garriot promissed is just not there! The crafting system is broken and utterly useless. It doesn't add anything to the game nor gives you any unique nor better quality items. Its just a lame money sink feature in its current state. Crafting without any form of trading system and/or auction system is really useless anyway. As that's another thing Tabula Rasa totally lacks!! The tutorial is just plain awesome. Im not going into the details as I dont want to spoil the fun for people that want to try it. But just after you get out of the tutorial and land in the game world ...after you pickup the first quest ...its like a terrible wakeup call. At that moment you start getting the feeling whats coming to you: "a straight forward, boring repetitive, story lacking, mission grind". As thats what you getting! The logo's system, except for unlocking some abilities, has absolutely no real meaning in the game. A totally missed opportunity to add some form of depth and storyline to the game it so desperately needs!! Just a waste the way they implemented it Real shame! Also the regular exploration zones are heavily instanced like they did with D&D online. Just terrible and a way to destroy any sence of community! The instances so far look pretty cool and are fun in a way, but it just lacks complexity and a true need of strategy to really work as a team. So far everyone picks a mission and runs forward blasting or electrocuting (logo power) everything whats in its way! The exact same thing you do outside the instances, only now you dont have to worry about kill stealing! Sure its still beta, but its the end of beta! Dont forget that! I have been in too many beta's and can tell you that at this moment you wont have to expect a massive, huge, extraordinary, WOW magic miracle patch that is going to fix all that what is missing and wrong in this game! With all the competition out there, bringing out half finished MMO's, expecting players to pay 50 euros for the game and then start paying monthly fees of 15 euro and patiently waiting a year or two till the game gets into a state it should have been ....well my friends. Those days are over!!
Highlighted in red is what invalidates your entire post. Starting a counter-point with the logical fallacy known as the argumentum ad hominem renders everything that you said useless to anyone.
Try again, without attacking someone personally to give your argument weight.
My own experience with TR (now that the NDA is lifted) is that I actually have enjoyed my time there so far. Admittedly, I've only logged about 10 hours of total gameplay time, and the fun-factor may fade after a while. I enjoy the TPS-based gameplay, and I honestly am not sure what people are talking about when they say that it's "too easy"... last time I played, I made one wrong move and my partner got himself whacked by an Overseer.
The game is okay solo. Grouping is much more fun, although it seems to be difficult to find groups at this point in the game for overland play. They've solved the shooting-through-walls bugs (squashed it a couple of patches ago, for all those who quit because of it) and in general the instances are great fun. The quests that come over the radio inside the instances are a nice touch.
I like the graphics and the art style. Everything blends well artistically, in my opinion. I run the game on the High graphics settings, and things look good. They're not amazing, but they look good. I don't experience too much slowdown, and my computer is a bit outdated (2.8 GhZ Pentium D, Radeon X800XL, 2 GB RAM). I imagine that I get an average of 20-25 frames per second, which is plenty for the gameplay style.
So far it's a nice departure from the standard fantasy game for me. I don't know how long I'd play it for in its current state, however. I, too, am looking for a world to spend my time in like I used to in Asheron's Call, but I haven't found it here. That does not mean that I hate Tabula Rasa, but I admit that I was hoping for more from Richard Garriott.
I think the major problem here is expectations. Once again, as with Vanguard, everyone looked to TR to be this amazing, revolutionary, once-in-a-lifetime game. You guys really should stop looking for every game to be the second coming. You'd be a lot less disappointed that way.
The expectations are created by Mister Richard Garriot himself!! By promissing features, storyline and depth and shouting of the roof this game is going to be the next big thing to kick WoW from first place!!
Just like with Vanguard happened. Never shout from the roof and promise things if you cant deliver it
I dont say I hate Tabula Rasa ...but dissapointed? Yes I am deeply dissapointed!
From the creators behind Ultima and Ultima Online I would have expected a big leap forward ...not backwards! As graphics alone won't cut it!
Is this game going to survive? I highly doubt it. As the majority, and surely the hardcore ones, will reach the level cap before the first free month ends!! Tabula Rasa just gives me too much of a Dejavu from Matrix Online, Auto Assault and Vanguard Big mouths, lots of promisses, but no delivery!
Cheers
------
And oh ...Torvac just got the "bullshit review of others" comment slapped back in his face with mine Nothing personal.
The expectations are created by Mister Richard Garriot himself!! By promissing features, storyline and depth and shouting of the roof this game is going to be the next big thing to kick WoW from first place!!
Just like with Vanguard happened. Never shout from the roof and promise things if you cant deliver it I dont say I hate Tabula Rasa ...but dissapointed? Yes I am deeply dissapointed! From the creators behind Ultima and Ultima Online I would have expected a big leap forward ...not backwards! As graphics alone won't cut it! Is this game going to survive? I highly doubt it. As the majority, and surely the hardcore ones, will reach the level cap before the first free month ends!! Tabula Rasa just gives me too much of a Dejavu from Matrix Online, Auto Assault and Vanguard Cheers ------ And oh ...Torvac just got the "bullshit review of others" comment slapped back in his face with mine Nothing personal.
k taken. still, i call it bullshit what some people wrote in here.
it might be hyped a bit too much by RG. not every mmo game has a 3-10 year backstory with books and single-player versions. might be that 2 out of 10 players actually care about it. i doubt that any NC person said its a wow-killer. there wont be any wow killer games. wow is a business plan, dumbed down version of every grind-machine that has been out. blizzard went the microsoft way in mmo game design, make it the same as others have it but easy,shiny and working. and people there love to kill lvl 1 rats with lvl 1 fireballs, then lvl 5 rats with lvl 5 fireballs ...
k taken. still, i call it bullshit what some people wrote in here.
it might be hyped a bit too much by RG. not every mmo game has a 3-10 year backstory with books and single-player versions. might be that 2 out of 10 players actually care about it. i doubt that any NC person said its a wow-killer. there wont be any wow killer games. wow is a business plan, dumbed down version of every grind-machine that has been out. blizzard went the microsoft way in mmo game design, make it the same as others have it but easy,shiny and working. and people there love to kill lvl 1 rats with lvl 1 fireballs, then lvl 5 rats with lvl 5 fireballs ...
Maybe, but lets be honest? Isn't Tabula Rasa not even further dumbed down compared to for example, WoW?
Instead of killing lvl1 rats with lvl1 firebals, then lvl5 rats with lvl5 fireballs ...in TR you are killing lvl1 aliens with lvl1 bullets, then lvl5 aliens with lvl1 bullets, as using higher grade bullets has no real effect and are a pure money sink, you keep using lvl1 bullets
A game doesnt have to have a 10 year background story. You can create the story for the player ingame. Let it unfold itself through the missions. Making complex and long inter-chaining missions/quests, create stories and background around it makes it a lot more fun then just get mission, run to alliens and pull the trigger or shoot an electrobolt at them. And that doing over and over and over and over till you reach the lvl cap
Like the WoW fantasy type MMO's ...straightforward simple grindfest MMO's we have plenty of them... they are old and classic! we dont need another one in a new graphic overhaul!
LOL to previous poster. Im happy for you that you like a extremely simplistic, straight forward, hack and slash shootem up MMO without any storyline, any form of depth. As that's what Tabula Rasa is. The incredible storyline, the depth you would been drawn into, the complexity ..all things what Richard Garriot promissed is just not there! The crafting system is broken and utterly useless. It doesn't add anything to the game nor gives you any unique nor better quality items. Its just a lame money sink feature in its current state. Crafting without any form of trading system and/or auction system is really useless anyway. As that's another thing Tabula Rasa totally lacks!! The tutorial is just plain awesome. Im not going into the details as I dont want to spoil the fun for people that want to try it. But just after you get out of the tutorial and land in the game world ...after you pickup the first quest ...its like a terrible wakeup call. At that moment you start getting the feeling whats coming to you: "a straight forward, boring repetitive, story lacking, mission grind". As thats what you getting! The logo's system, except for unlocking some abilities, has absolutely no real meaning in the game. A totally missed opportunity to add some form of depth and storyline to the game it so desperately needs!! Just a waste the way they implemented it Real shame! Also the regular exploration zones are heavily instanced like they did with D&D online. Just terrible and a way to destroy any sence of community! The instances so far look pretty cool and are fun in a way, but it just lacks complexity and a true need of strategy to really work as a team. So far everyone picks a mission and runs forward blasting or electrocuting (logo power) everything whats in its way! The exact same thing you do outside the instances, only now you dont have to worry about kill stealing! Sure its still beta, but its the end of beta! Dont forget that! I have been in too many beta's and can tell you that at this moment you wont have to expect a massive, huge, extraordinary, WOW magic miracle patch that is going to fix all that what is missing and wrong in this game! With all the competition out there, bringing out half finished MMO's, expecting players to pay 50 euros for the game and then start paying monthly fees of 15 euro and patiently waiting a year or two till the game gets into a state it should have been ....well my friends. Those days are over!!
You are just trolling for no reason. TR has lots of serious problems as an MMO, but the things you're talking about are not among them which makes me think that you've never actually played the game and are just making stuff up at random.
First the storyline. I've played about 15 MMOs, incluing AO,EVE,CoX, EQ, EQ2, DaoC, Vanguard, SWG, etc,etc. Except for AO, there isn't a single MMO that had a better fitting story than tabula rasa. The way that the world works fits the story 100% perfectly and the things you read in the "lore" and see in the cinematics are exactly the things you experience in the game. The game is a warzone, it feels like warzone. Characters talk like they are in warzone. Is it very original? Not really, it's inspired by countless vietnam and WW2 movies. But it's 10 times better than all bull***t pseudo-tolkien fantasy worlds that all look and sound alike and just have gods of hate and dark elves that go by different names.
The crafting system is broken. Hrm.. the crafting system has been in the game for less than a month. I haven't tried it, but that's mainly because I expect it to be broken. Is this a good thing? No. But if you expect a brand new untested system to be perfect, you'll never be satisfied. Crafting was patched-in in mid-august. Before that it simply didn't exist. The first round of fixes hasn't even gone into it yet.
Logos system. I agree with you for the most part and that was one of my main complaints. That being said, after I got past level 20, i found numerous puzzles and trials involving knowledge and obtainment of logos. So maybe there is more to be had later on.
As far as the missions being boring and repetitive, I didn't find this at all. If you give me an example of an MMO where the missions were more to your liking, perhaps I would understand better. Missions are similar to what you see in other MMOs like EQ2 or WoW or CoH. Kill missions, fetch mission, assassinate mission... a nice touch is escort missions which can be really tough sometimes due to NPCs running around and needing protection, lots of ambushes too which are great. Each playfield has a major storyline chain and many other missions. I was so into the storyline on the first playfield that I literally played to level 9 without knowing or caring where the XP indicator was.
Instancing. I've played DDO. I have no clue where you are even getting a comparison between the two games. The shared playfields in TR are MASSIVE... they have enemy bases, caves, underground caverns, bunkers and a constant state of action with NPCs fighting all over... all kinds of stuff to explore. Having done more than 90% of missions for the first 3 playfields the % of missions for instances is about 20% vs. 80% taknig place in the shared playfield. There are 3-6 instances in each playfield, each with a deep story and numerous missions inside. They feel immersive and fun. (Also, they've just added a new type of mission called "Target of opportunity" which you get as you come across a boss or some objective in your travels, sound cool, but i haven't tried yet.)
The game does have problems such as being TOO soloable and having no end-game. There are also quite a few bugs still. But most of the stuff you mentioned is completely off-base.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
loads of bullshit reviews and comments based on beta software really. dont know , but lot of you people really had the wrong expectations about this game. and let me just say , youll not find any other game in near future that will satisfy you. TR is what it is, a solid mmog. it has some unique nice features, its good in some aspects and bad in others.
combat:
is shooter like, you can adjust a "sticky target timer" which helps slow people like me and helps to stay on targets in crowds. if you set this to 0 its like a fps shooter, if set to full its "sticky target". you can still make a target sticky in fps setting with tab (good for long distance sniping). you got to point at least a bit near your target to hit it when its marked.
also when targeting watch the reticule, when its inside and full on your target you do full damage, you target faster when crouched. weapons work best at their named distance (e.g. rifle = 60m, pistol 20m ...)
duck&cover wasnt working 100% for the last few patches, it was working in early beta and should be ok with this weeks patch. this is a unique feature (unlike LOS avoid cheats or safe spots in other games).
and yes npc targeting was buggy the last 3 patches and they were shooting through walls (its beta you know).
you dont really have ability timers, you dont have to check your UI every few seconds, no castbars.
fast paced and loads of fun if you master it with different classes. different ways to fight, it depending on your chars skills, abilities and weapon choices.
different weapons have different side effects that can add to your strategy (fire,sonic,ice ..)
you get some stuff at lvl 30 that can completly change your playstyle. e.g. train guardian from commando skilltree, get a staff, charge attack and a good aoe dmg logo (pure fun combo). the story:
easy good human vs bad alien, enough said. few side things (ehlo race, logos, cormans) but thats it. parts are explained in the mission texts, its all there. few things you find out yourself while doing the missions and instances, or talk to npcs with a white sign over their heads. missions:
kill x, deliver x, recon y, find x, get x to y, place bomb at y ... like in every other game. few longer and deeper questlines combined with instances at the end. few missions with choices at some part. the missions fit the scenario. pretty much what other games offer crafting was a placeholder until 2 patches ago and id only checked few things:
enhancing weapons + armor , crafting color for armor, medipacks etc. gfx:
needs a good machine, but check maximum and ultra settings. it looks really great. some cards still have problems (beta doh). the effects are fitting the scenario and not cheap, its different from fantasy (e.g. see netgun screenshots), if you start glowing in a warzone, banes will pop your head. instanced:
parts of the world are divided in subzones. but think about it, you could not have 1000 npc soldiers fighting next to you. later zones are busy with dropships and soldiers,mechs fighting all the time.
the mission instances just rock. e.g. treeback in palisades :
you enter and are asked to free some computer terminal (you get 2 npcs to help you).
your asked to open some forcefield (fight your way to some terminal and press switch), after your done reinforcements come into the valley
your asked to destroy some radar stuff placed around the hills around that valley, then meet with some npc (he comes in with a dropship)
then kill few bosses and deliver their heads
kill endboss, 1 more sidequest with dogs
few others i cant remember
all this while the afs squads fight their way into the valley. and you can choose to stay with them and just fight stuff
its 100% not boring, guess people like wow instances with 3-5 mobs waiting around every corner better. and this is one of many interesting instances (3rd zone ~lvl 20, you got 3 in zone 1, 3(4?) in zone 2).
in 1st zone people should visit is praveus research,it just rocks and gives a soldier feeling right away. mobs:
now its a bit limited, but imagine the other sides position, they fight humans all day. but this is a problem that all mmos have. youll see interesting mobs later on in TR, 1st 3 zones dont have many different. all have immunities and vulnerabilities. you can kick frozen mobs to ice cubes, kicking a "dying" mob gives extra XP. lies:
now someone wrote: "toons are visually identical for the most part", you must be blind seriously. "no emotes" , damn your blind or ignorant. "social centers" is where people make them, its there, just people dont use them (yet). "12 different customization options" you cant count (and more were added just this week, some are not revealed yet its for the CE pack).
PS: dont get me wrong, there are loads of unpolished things still in TR (thats why later zones are closed again atm but belief me they are great fun), and like with every game, it will not please everyone. but such half-assed reviews of ignorant people, complaining about not spoon-feed every little aspect of content ("omg i have to go explore a world ?") makes me sick. THEN ITS BETA , would it hurt to read the Readme.txt that was installed ? or visit the BETA Forum to see a list of settings, known problems, general information, key commands, emotes ... beta leechers are dumb. its a complex game, but fun and rewarding once you learned how things work.
I have not been playing all that long, but so far, I agree with Torvac. I like the gamepay, the graphics look pretty good to me, and I am having alot of fun.
You are just trolling for no reason. TR has lots of serious problems as an MMO, but the things you're talking about are not among them which makes me think that you've never actually played the game and are just making stuff up at random. First the storyline. I've played about 15 MMOs, incluing AO,EVE,CoX, EQ, EQ2, DaoC, Vanguard, SWG, etc,etc. Except for AO, there isn't a single MMO that had a better fitting story than tabula rasa. The way that the world works fits the story 100% perfectly and the things you read in the "lore" and see in the cinematics are exactly the things you experience in the game. The game is a warzone, it feels like warzone. Characters talk like they are in warzone. Is it very original? Not really, it's inspired by countless vietnam and WW2 movies. But it's 10 times better than all bull***t pseudo-tolkien fantasy worlds that all look and sound alike and just have gods of hate and dark elves that go by different names. The crafting system is broken. Hrm.. the crafting system has been in the game for less than a month. I haven't tried it, but that's mainly because I expect it to be broken. Is this a good thing? No. But if you expect a brand new untested system to be perfect, you'll never be satisfied. Crafting was patched-in in mid-august. Before that it simply didn't exist. The first round of fixes hasn't even gone into it yet. Logos system. I agree with you for the most part and that was one of my main complaints. That being said, after I got past level 20, i found numerous puzzles and trials involving knowledge and obtainment of logos. So maybe there is more to be had later on. As far as the missions being boring and repetitive, I didn't find this at all. If you give me an example of an MMO where the missions were more to your liking, perhaps I would understand better. Missions are similar to what you see in other MMOs like EQ2 or WoW or CoH. Kill missions, fetch mission, assassinate mission... a nice touch is escort missions which can be really tough sometimes due to NPCs running around and needing protection, lots of ambushes too which are great. Each playfield has a major storyline chain and many other missions. I was so into the storyline on the first playfield that I literally played to level 9 without knowing or caring where the XP indicator was. Instancing. I've played DDO. I have no clue where you are even getting a comparison between the two games. The shared playfields in TR are MASSIVE... they have enemy bases, caves, underground caverns, bunkers and a constant state of action with NPCs fighting all over... all kinds of stuff to explore. Having done more than 90% of missions for the first 3 playfields the % of missions for instances is about 20% vs. 80% taknig place in the shared playfield. There are 3-6 instances in each playfield, each with a deep story and numerous missions inside. They feel immersive and fun. (Also, they've just added a new type of mission called "Target of opportunity" which you get as you come across a boss or some objective in your travels, sound cool, but i haven't tried yet.) The game does have problems such as being TOO soloable and having no end-game. There are also quite a few bugs still. But most of the stuff you mentioned is completely off-base.
Im not trolling in any way! So don't accuse me of that please! Thats just so typical Fanboism talk you pulling out your sleeve!! Im in Beta for over a month! So yeah I have been playing!
Since the new patch yesterday, they have removed most of the few quest chains there were in the game! Making it even less appealing for brand new players coming out of the tutorial.
The comparison I draw with DDO towards instancing is the way they handled the regular zones making it heavily instances in a way there are like 7 copies of it. Thats a good way destroying ingame community forming! "Hey joe, Im in Wilderness 1 ...I cant find you?" ..."Oh ...I dont know where I am .,...oh wait ...Im in Wilderness 7". Really adds to the immersiveness of the game ...NOT!
And you pointed it perfectly ...leveling goes extremely fast. So without any endgame, most people buying this game in october will be done with it before the end of their free month!
I do believe it needs time, but has some refreshing ideas and concepts, that are needed in these clone MMO's out there.
This is not for all the players though! If you dont fit the gameplay style TR has to offer, you might as well move along and try another one
By the way.. the patch that went live yesterday, removed a lot of content becuase they need to focus on certain elements. They will put it back next week.
From what I have played it has a lot of potential, but with the release date announced I am a bit concerned that it will die before that potential is realized and that people will just write it off as a complete failure and go back to the same old 'tried and true' EQ formula.
The combat is great at times and not so great at others, I really like the cover system as it actually makes you think about your position in the battle and can make a massive difference to the outcome of a conflict. I also like the finishing moves and experience multiplier as it encourages you to take risks and really get into the combat rather than just doing ‘fireball, fireball, fireblast, loot, drink, repeat’ like in WoW and such.
I won’t disagree it does feel a bit shallow and 'contentless' and as such needs a lot of work to really make it shine (I have only played to level 15 and haven't even seen the whole base capturing thing in action yet), but I have faith in RG and Co. and will keep playing beta and wait until launch (maybe even a few months after) before I decide to dismiss it and just play something else.
I have to say that while games do garner and generate a player's emotions (which is a good thing), there really is no need for you guys to flame one another back and forth - People will either like this game or not; simple.
Back on topic. There are a few features of the game that really could have set it apart from the rest of the crowd but fall SO short (shamefully):
1.) Logos. What an absolutely fantastic idea! It is a shame, however, that it was implemented so very poorly. Logos should really separate your character from all the other 'normal' humans...but the game just doesn't give you that "I'm special" feeling. You go around and collect countless Logos symbols, memorizing them into your tablet, then continue on your merry way in the game. There just isn't enough in-game emphasis on Logos or the use of them for your character - This is just a huge missed opportunity for the game to provide some much needed story depth and draw to the player.
2.) Character classes are just very bland. With so few abilities available to each class, and most of those abilities just being variations of other class abilities, there is a true lack of distinction among players (not only in abilities but appearance too). Shamefully, you really do not feel anymore powerful as a level 30 Spy than you did as a level 8 Recruit - You just now have some different named abilities. Overall, I found the class abilities to be very unoriginal and unimaginative and just plain dull. Looking through the Tier 4 abilities really made my Ranger sigh.
3.) The game's crafting system. WOW. I have to say that this was one of the absolute worst crafting systems I have ever seen implemented within an MMO. The crafting process is just plain boring and the items you create not only cost you more than their vendor versions but are hardly any different than vendor versions! There is just no compelling reason to craft in the game. Nevermind the fact that in order to craft, you will need to spend your valuable ability points into a crafting skill - This means NOBODY will train into crafting skills on their main character and everyone will be left with crafting alternate characters.
4.) Character cloning. What an absolutely fantastic idea that went from super to horrible in a matter of a patch. This was one of the largest draws to the game for many players and they choked it into ultra blandness. Now, you will have to "earn" your character cloning points in order to clone your character. Some character cloning points are based upon your character level, while others can be earned via in-game quests. Previously character cloning was unlimited and allowed players to explore all of the different bland character classes available. Now, character cloning is a very careful and very concious decision a player must be very concerned about making.
From what I have played it has a lot of potential, but with the release date announced I am a bit concerned that it will die before that potential is realized and that people will just write it off as a complete failure and go back to the same old 'tried and true' EQ formula. The combat is great at times and not so great at others, I really like the cover system as it actually makes you think about your position in the battle and can make a massive difference to the outcome of a conflict. I also like the finishing moves and experience multiplier as it encourages you to take risks and really get into the combat rather than just doing ‘fireball, fireball, fireblast, loot, drink, repeat’ like in WoW and such. I won’t disagree it does feel a bit shallow and 'contentless' and as such needs a lot of work to really make it shine (I have only played to level 15 and haven't even seen the whole base capturing thing in action yet), but I have faith in RG and Co. and will keep playing beta and wait until launch (maybe even a few months after) before I decide to dismiss it and just play something else.
You keep using the "p" word (potential).... which sounds alot like VG and what happens when you are told your blind date has a really good personality (another "p" word)
I think I'll steer clear for a bit until I see how the dust shakes out.....
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Im not trolling in any way! So don't accuse me of that please! Thats just so typical Fanboism talk you pulling out your sleeve!! Im in Beta for over a month! So yeah I have been playing!
Since the new patch yesterday, they have removed most of the few quest chains there were in the game! Making it even less appealing for brand new players coming out of the tutorial. The comparison I draw with DDO towards instancing is the way they handled the regular zones making it heavily instances in a way there are like 7 copies of it. Thats a good way destroying ingame community forming! "Hey joe, Im in Wilderness 1 ...I cant find you?" ..."Oh ...I dont know where I am .,...oh wait ...Im in Wilderness 7". Really adds to the immersiveness of the game ...NOT! And you pointed it perfectly ...leveling goes extremely fast. So without any endgame, most people buying this game in october will be done with it before the end of their free month! Cheers
If that is your comparison to DDO, then you'll be sorely disappointed as I've only played 1 game that solved this problem and it is the single worst MMO ever launched (by popular opinion, not mine), that game was Dark and Light. Whereas in TR you can just step on a teleporter and meet your provervial "Joe", in game like vanguard and WoW, Joe is simply on another server and there is no way to meet him at all.
If you know any game other than DnL where all players are in the same zone at the same time, I'd love to know what it is, because I don't think anyone has developed that technology.
DDO had no shared combat areas. DDO had cities with NPCs and shops and all combat was instances. In TR more than 80% of combat takes place in open, shared playfields. Furthermore, going from point A in playfield 1 to point B is playfield 2 is EXACTLY the same as going from point A in 1 to point B at 1. So if you were going to meet Joe, he would say I'm at B in 2 and you would simply pick that destination.
Use of instancing in DDO sucked. TR is nothing like it. If anything, TR took the "good" concepts from DDO (such as heavily involving quests with special events and scripted stories) and used them in an otherwise shared game. The problem with DDO wasn't that it had instanced quests, it's that it didn't have anything else. TR has plenty more.
The end-game thing scares me. However, having seen some intense group combat, there is TONS of potential for what could be done given even today's mechanics. All they have to do is add tougher AI and some dynamic high level stuff and this will be the best combat game. They don't need to change how most things work, only add tougher objectives and mobs. It can't be THAT hard to do.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
If that is your comparison to DDO, then you'll be sorely disappointed as I've only played 1 game that solved this problem and it is the single worst MMO ever launched (by popular opinion, not mine), that game was Dark and Light. Whereas in TR you can just step on a teleporter and meet your provervial "Joe", in game like vanguard and WoW, Joe is simply on another server and there is no way to meet him at all.
If you know any game other than DnL where all players are in the same zone at the same time, I'd love to know what it is, because I don't think anyone has developed that technology. DDO had no shared combat areas. DDO had cities with NPCs and shops and all combat was instances. In TR more than 80% of combat takes place in open, shared playfields. Furthermore, going from point A in playfield 1 to point B is playfield 2 is EXACTLY the same as going from point A in 1 to point B at 1. So if you were going to meet Joe, he would say I'm at B in 2 and you would simply pick that destination. Use of instancing in DDO sucked. TR is nothing like it. If anything, TR took the "good" concepts from DDO (such as heavily involving quests with special events and scripted stories) and used them in an otherwise shared game. The problem with DDO wasn't that it had instanced quests, it's that it didn't have anything else. TR has plenty more. The end-game thing scares me. However, having seen some intense group combat, there is TONS of potential for what could be done given even today's mechanics. All they have to do is add tougher AI and some dynamic high level stuff and this will be the best combat game. They don't need to change how most things work, only add tougher objectives and mobs. It can't be THAT hard to do.
Instancing regular zones is bad! And you want to know wich games don't use instancing for regular zones?
World of Warcraft
Star Wars Galaxies
City of Heroes
...and I can go on. But I think and hope you got the point!
---
Instancing regular zones were people meet is a bad thing and kills immersiveness of the game! There are plenty of things you can instance like war zones, large missions, dungeons, etc. But leave the social regular areas uninstanced!!
Sure TR didn't do it so extremely worse as DDO, thats a true example of totally madness of massive overkill on instancing!
I love fps and rpgs but the character development is so slim that it just doesn't feel like anything at all. There's just nothing there to separate you from the crowd. Everyone that plays your class will be taking the exact same skills because everyone knows which ones are the best to take and which ones are overall useless. It's sad that there is such a limit (around six per class upgrade/change at 5, 15, 30 etc)
If they EVER stop the Bane shooting through walls it would be a miracle. From May till this last patch (uninstalled over Labor Day) I have never seen such blantent ingorance from the devs on this subject. I hope before release they at least fix this awful problem. It causes many untimely deaths and frustration.
Another problem is that over half the quests get their location marked on your map. Where's the sense of exploration here? I like good concise directions, not have everything handed to me with a map marker telling me exactly where ABC Cave is. Now once you find the cave, sure it's ok to have a map marker but geez let us use our brains a lil.
Chatbox in the upper left corner of the screen is the MOST annoying UI problem I have. Sadly you can't even move the dang thing. Is there any mmo made after 2002 that you can't move the chat box to a comfortable eye level on your screen? None of the UI can be moved, that just sheer laziness on the devs part.
Originally posted by Znith Been in beta since May. It's just plain boring .
Been in beta since Feb - I disagree Honestly I wouldnt have stuck around if I found the game boring.
Another problem is that over half the quests get their location marked on your map. Where's the sense of exploration here? I like good concise directions, not have everything handed to me with a map marker telling me exactly where ABC Cave is. Now once you find the cave, sure it's ok to have a map marker but geez let us use our brains a lil.
The game is targeted at a casual audience. You know the people who dont like to think for themselves
Way back in Feb - you had to explore to find the logos you needed for skills. People whined about that - so now you get quests for everyone in the starting area.
But later on - you need to explore to find logos you need - they arent all given to you in a quest.
None of the UI can be moved, that just sheer laziness on the devs part.
Not sure if thats changing or not. They have said the U.I wont be moddable. Not sure on the customization though.
Personally some of the quests really annoy me - the log says go rescue Person X or Do something else - its urgent. But if I wander off for 3 days they dont care so it doesnt have that sense of urgency.
Instancing regular zones were people meet is a bad thing and kills immersiveness of the game! There are plenty of things you can instance like war zones, large missions, dungeons, etc. But leave the social regular areas uninstanced!!
Sure TR didn't do it so extremely worse as DDO, thats a true example of totally madness of massive overkill on instancing!
I disagree - who wants 5,000 people all competing for the same quest/mob/boss. Regular areas support 300 people.
Comments
Try reading. I'd say there are few, if any, people here complaining about bugs. Flawless programming means nothing when the gameplay is stale and boring.
Most people I read mentioned getting shot through solid objects. Not only did this rarely happen to me, it is a pretty simple coding problem I imagine and isn't as game breaking as people say.
collision detection is no way a simple coding problem
Have to agree with Miagisan here. Collision detection is a big deal, and can be game-breaking for many. Getting shot through walls, floors, objects etc. is a real pain in the arse, and according to some developers is not an easy fix. It's an important fix though, and I hope they get on it before this goes live.Also, thanks Miagisan for a very thorough critique. It was a good read.
Way to single out one comment out of dozens.
*Gives up on getting some sense out of this thread.*
Leo, I just reread every response in this thread. Only 3 posts out of 18 when you originally posted (including the one I quoted originally) mention bugs, the collision detection specifically. What's to make sense of? The biggest complaint is the game itself.
auto assault without the cars sums it up.
I think it's a shame they decided to go the monthly fee route for this game, in my opinion that decision will hurt this game. To me it seemed like nothing more than a sci-fi GuildWars - in both graphics and gameplay. Even without looking into it myself I can say I'm fairly certain they used the same engine. While it was OK for a short while to me, it got kind of boring pretty fast and I just can't see this game working with a monthly fee pricing model. In mt opinion they should have done it just like GW, since everything but the setting is pretty much the same. /shrug
"Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received
with formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with him."
- Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce
I agree. I've been in beta for about 6 months and after my first couple play times I came to a conclusion.
This game really does feel alot like Auto Assault in its execution.
The graphics are good, and the gameplay is a neat new idea, it's something that's different than most MMOs and it really has that almost 'arcadey' feel to it. The problem though is that the game lacks any real depth. In 10 levels you'll be doing basically the same thing that you did at level 1, and that everyone else is doing. It's just alot of standing and shooting. Now maybe instead of shooting a rifle you're shooting lightning or throwing grenades or releasing smart mines, but in the end you're still basically just flinging projectiles at an enemy.
The other problem is that everyone gets the use of the logos, so they don't feel special at all. If there was perhaps a second branch in the "class tree" and only that branch got to use the logos, and they specialized with it, it would feel more like you could differentiate yourself from other people. The reason they didn't do that though is the fact that the logos seems to be their only real concurrent piece of story. If you don't have the whole logos collecting thing, then you really don't have any story that I've found.
Sadly, I don't think this game is going to do well at all. Like AutoAssault, it's a neat idea, and I want to like the game, but the execution of the gameplay is simply not there. There's nothing to draw you in.
Kudos to NCSoft for trying new things and getting out of the tired fantasy model, but they need to make these games with a depth of gameplay that makes people enjoy it.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
loads of bullshit reviews and comments based on beta software really. dont know , but lot of you people really had the wrong expectations about this game. and let me just say , youll not find any other game in near future that will satisfy you.
TR is what it is, a solid mmog. it has some unique nice features, its good in some aspects and bad in others.
combat:
is shooter like, you can adjust a "sticky target timer" which helps slow people like me and helps to stay on targets in crowds. if you set this to 0 its like a fps shooter, if set to full its "sticky target". you can still make a target sticky in fps setting with tab (good for long distance sniping). you got to point at least a bit near your target to hit it when its marked.
also when targeting watch the reticule, when its inside and full on your target you do full damage, you target faster when crouched. weapons work best at their named distance (e.g. rifle = 60m, pistol 20m ...)
duck&cover wasnt working 100% for the last few patches, it was working in early beta and should be ok with this weeks patch. this is a unique feature (unlike LOS avoid cheats or safe spots in other games).
and yes npc targeting was buggy the last 3 patches and they were shooting through walls (its beta you know).
you dont really have ability timers, you dont have to check your UI every few seconds, no castbars.
fast paced and loads of fun if you master it with different classes. different ways to fight, it depending on your chars skills, abilities and weapon choices.
different weapons have different side effects that can add to your strategy (fire,sonic,ice ..)
you get some stuff at lvl 30 that can completly change your playstyle. e.g. train guardian from commando skilltree, get a staff, charge attack and a good aoe dmg logo (pure fun combo).
the story:
easy good human vs bad alien, enough said. few side things (ehlo race, logos, cormans) but thats it. parts are explained in the mission texts, its all there. few things you find out yourself while doing the missions and instances, or talk to npcs with a white sign over their heads.
missions:
kill x, deliver x, recon y, find x, get x to y, place bomb at y ... like in every other game. few longer and deeper questlines combined with instances at the end. few missions with choices at some part. the missions fit the scenario. pretty much what other games offer
crafting was a placeholder until 2 patches ago and id only checked few things:
enhancing weapons + armor , crafting color for armor, medipacks etc.
gfx:
needs a good machine, but check maximum and ultra settings. it looks really great. some cards still have problems (beta doh). the effects are fitting the scenario and not cheap, its different from fantasy (e.g. see netgun screenshots), if you start glowing in a warzone, banes will pop your head.
instanced:
parts of the world are divided in subzones. but think about it, you could not have 1000 npc soldiers fighting next to you. later zones are busy with dropships and soldiers,mechs fighting all the time.
the mission instances just rock. e.g. treeback in palisades :
you enter and are asked to free some computer terminal (you get 2 npcs to help you).
your asked to open some forcefield (fight your way to some terminal and press switch), after your done reinforcements come into the valley
your asked to destroy some radar stuff placed around the hills around that valley, then meet with some npc (he comes in with a dropship)
then kill few bosses and deliver their heads
kill endboss, 1 more sidequest with dogs
few others i cant remember
all this while the afs squads fight their way into the valley. and you can choose to stay with them and just fight stuff
its 100% not boring, guess people like wow instances with 3-5 mobs waiting around every corner better. and this is one of many interesting instances (3rd zone ~lvl 20, you got 3 in zone 1, 3(4?) in zone 2).
in 1st zone people should visit is praveus research,it just rocks and gives a soldier feeling right away.
mobs:
now its a bit limited, but imagine the other sides position, they fight humans all day. but this is a problem that all mmos have. youll see interesting mobs later on in TR, 1st 3 zones dont have many different. all have immunities and vulnerabilities. you can kick frozen mobs to ice cubes, kicking a "dying" mob gives extra XP.
lies:
now someone wrote: "toons are visually identical for the most part", you must be blind seriously. "no emotes" , damn your blind or ignorant. "social centers" is where people make them, its there, just people dont use them (yet). "12 different customization options" you cant count (and more were added just this week, some are not revealed yet its for the CE pack).
PS: dont get me wrong, there are loads of unpolished things still in TR (thats why later zones are closed again atm but belief me they are great fun), and like with every game, it will not please everyone. but such half-assed reviews of ignorant people, complaining about not spoon-feed every little aspect of content ("omg i have to go explore a world ?") makes me sick. THEN ITS BETA , would it hurt to read the Readme.txt that was installed ? or visit the BETA Forum to see a list of settings, known problems, general information, key commands, emotes ... beta leechers are dumb. its a complex game, but fun and rewarding once you learned how things work.
LOL to previous poster. Im happy for you that you like a extremely simplistic, straight forward, hack and slash shootem up MMO without any storyline, any form of depth. As that's what Tabula Rasa is.
The incredible storyline, the depth you would been drawn into, the complexity ..all things what Richard Garriot promissed is just not there!
The crafting system is broken and utterly useless. It doesn't add anything to the game nor gives you any unique nor better quality items. Its just a lame money sink feature in its current state. Crafting without any form of trading system and/or auction system is really useless anyway. As that's another thing Tabula Rasa totally lacks!!
The tutorial is just plain awesome. Im not going into the details as I dont want to spoil the fun for people that want to try it. But just after you get out of the tutorial and land in the game world ...after you pickup the first quest ...its like a terrible wakeup call. At that moment you start getting the feeling whats coming to you: "a straight forward, boring repetitive, story lacking, mission grind". As thats what you getting!
The logo's system, except for unlocking some abilities, has absolutely no real meaning in the game. A totally missed opportunity to add some form of depth and storyline to the game it so desperately needs!! Just a waste the way they implemented it
Real shame!
Also the regular exploration zones are heavily instanced like they did with D&D online. Just terrible and a way to destroy any sence of community!
The instances so far look pretty cool and are fun in a way, but it just lacks complexity and a true need of strategy to really work as a team. So far everyone picks a mission and runs forward blasting or electrocuting (logo power) everything whats in its way! The exact same thing you do outside the instances, only now you dont have to worry about kill stealing!
Sure its still beta, but its the end of beta! Dont forget that! I have been in too many beta's and can tell you that at this moment you wont have to expect a massive, huge, extraordinary, WOW magic miracle patch that is going to fix all that what is missing and wrong in this game!
With all the competition out there, bringing out half finished MMO's, expecting players to pay 50 euros for the game and then start paying monthly fees of 15 euro and patiently waiting a year or two till the game gets into a state it should have been ....well my friends. Those days are over!!
Highlighted in red is what invalidates your entire post. Starting a counter-point with the logical fallacy known as the argumentum ad hominem renders everything that you said useless to anyone.
Try again, without attacking someone personally to give your argument weight.
My own experience with TR (now that the NDA is lifted) is that I actually have enjoyed my time there so far. Admittedly, I've only logged about 10 hours of total gameplay time, and the fun-factor may fade after a while. I enjoy the TPS-based gameplay, and I honestly am not sure what people are talking about when they say that it's "too easy"... last time I played, I made one wrong move and my partner got himself whacked by an Overseer.
The game is okay solo. Grouping is much more fun, although it seems to be difficult to find groups at this point in the game for overland play. They've solved the shooting-through-walls bugs (squashed it a couple of patches ago, for all those who quit because of it) and in general the instances are great fun. The quests that come over the radio inside the instances are a nice touch.
I like the graphics and the art style. Everything blends well artistically, in my opinion. I run the game on the High graphics settings, and things look good. They're not amazing, but they look good. I don't experience too much slowdown, and my computer is a bit outdated (2.8 GhZ Pentium D, Radeon X800XL, 2 GB RAM). I imagine that I get an average of 20-25 frames per second, which is plenty for the gameplay style.
So far it's a nice departure from the standard fantasy game for me. I don't know how long I'd play it for in its current state, however. I, too, am looking for a world to spend my time in like I used to in Asheron's Call, but I haven't found it here. That does not mean that I hate Tabula Rasa, but I admit that I was hoping for more from Richard Garriott.
I think the major problem here is expectations. Once again, as with Vanguard, everyone looked to TR to be this amazing, revolutionary, once-in-a-lifetime game. You guys really should stop looking for every game to be the second coming. You'd be a lot less disappointed that way.
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"Give a man a fire, and he is warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life."
Highlighted in red is what invalidates your entire post. Starting a counter-point with the logical fallacy known as the argumentum ad hominem renders everything that you said useless to anyone.
Try again, without attacking someone personally to give your argument weight.
My own experience with TR (now that the NDA is lifted) is that I actually have enjoyed my time there so far. Admittedly, I've only logged about 10 hours of total gameplay time, and the fun-factor may fade after a while. I enjoy the TPS-based gameplay, and I honestly am not sure what people are talking about when they say that it's "too easy"... last time I played, I made one wrong move and my partner got himself whacked by an Overseer.
The game is okay solo. Grouping is much more fun, although it seems to be difficult to find groups at this point in the game for overland play. They've solved the shooting-through-walls bugs (squashed it a couple of patches ago, for all those who quit because of it) and in general the instances are great fun. The quests that come over the radio inside the instances are a nice touch.
I like the graphics and the art style. Everything blends well artistically, in my opinion. I run the game on the High graphics settings, and things look good. They're not amazing, but they look good. I don't experience too much slowdown, and my computer is a bit outdated (2.8 GhZ Pentium D, Radeon X800XL, 2 GB RAM). I imagine that I get an average of 20-25 frames per second, which is plenty for the gameplay style.
So far it's a nice departure from the standard fantasy game for me. I don't know how long I'd play it for in its current state, however. I, too, am looking for a world to spend my time in like I used to in Asheron's Call, but I haven't found it here. That does not mean that I hate Tabula Rasa, but I admit that I was hoping for more from Richard Garriott.
I think the major problem here is expectations. Once again, as with Vanguard, everyone looked to TR to be this amazing, revolutionary, once-in-a-lifetime game. You guys really should stop looking for every game to be the second coming. You'd be a lot less disappointed that way.
The expectations are created by Mister Richard Garriot himself!! By promissing features, storyline and depth and shouting of the roof this game is going to be the next big thing to kick WoW from first place!!
Just like with Vanguard happened. Never shout from the roof and promise things if you cant deliver it
I dont say I hate Tabula Rasa ...but dissapointed? Yes I am deeply dissapointed!
From the creators behind Ultima and Ultima Online I would have expected a big leap forward ...not backwards! As graphics alone won't cut it!
Is this game going to survive? I highly doubt it. As the majority, and surely the hardcore ones, will reach the level cap before the first free month ends!! Tabula Rasa just gives me too much of a Dejavu from Matrix Online, Auto Assault and Vanguard
Big mouths, lots of promisses, but no delivery!
Cheers
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And oh ...Torvac just got the "bullshit review of others" comment slapped back in his face with mine
Nothing personal.
k taken. still, i call it bullshit what some people wrote in here.
it might be hyped a bit too much by RG. not every mmo game has a 3-10 year backstory with books and single-player versions. might be that 2 out of 10 players actually care about it. i doubt that any NC person said its a wow-killer. there wont be any wow killer games. wow is a business plan, dumbed down version of every grind-machine that has been out. blizzard went the microsoft way in mmo game design, make it the same as others have it but easy,shiny and working. and people there love to kill lvl 1 rats with lvl 1 fireballs, then lvl 5 rats with lvl 5 fireballs ...
Maybe, but lets be honest? Isn't Tabula Rasa not even further dumbed down compared to for example, WoW?
Instead of killing lvl1 rats with lvl1 firebals, then lvl5 rats with lvl5 fireballs ...in TR you are killing lvl1 aliens with lvl1 bullets, then lvl5 aliens with lvl1 bullets, as using higher grade bullets has no real effect and are a pure money sink, you keep using lvl1 bullets
A game doesnt have to have a 10 year background story. You can create the story for the player ingame. Let it unfold itself through the missions. Making complex and long inter-chaining missions/quests, create stories and background around it makes it a lot more fun then just get mission, run to alliens and pull the trigger or shoot an electrobolt at them. And that doing over and over and over and over till you reach the lvl cap
Like the WoW fantasy type MMO's ...straightforward simple grindfest MMO's we have plenty of them... they are old and classic! we dont need another one in a new graphic overhaul!
Good idea, bad execution. The game is just plain boring....
You are just trolling for no reason. TR has lots of serious problems as an MMO, but the things you're talking about are not among them which makes me think that you've never actually played the game and are just making stuff up at random.
First the storyline. I've played about 15 MMOs, incluing AO,EVE,CoX, EQ, EQ2, DaoC, Vanguard, SWG, etc,etc. Except for AO, there isn't a single MMO that had a better fitting story than tabula rasa. The way that the world works fits the story 100% perfectly and the things you read in the "lore" and see in the cinematics are exactly the things you experience in the game. The game is a warzone, it feels like warzone. Characters talk like they are in warzone. Is it very original? Not really, it's inspired by countless vietnam and WW2 movies. But it's 10 times better than all bull***t pseudo-tolkien fantasy worlds that all look and sound alike and just have gods of hate and dark elves that go by different names.
The crafting system is broken. Hrm.. the crafting system has been in the game for less than a month. I haven't tried it, but that's mainly because I expect it to be broken. Is this a good thing? No. But if you expect a brand new untested system to be perfect, you'll never be satisfied. Crafting was patched-in in mid-august. Before that it simply didn't exist. The first round of fixes hasn't even gone into it yet.
Logos system. I agree with you for the most part and that was one of my main complaints. That being said, after I got past level 20, i found numerous puzzles and trials involving knowledge and obtainment of logos. So maybe there is more to be had later on.
As far as the missions being boring and repetitive, I didn't find this at all. If you give me an example of an MMO where the missions were more to your liking, perhaps I would understand better. Missions are similar to what you see in other MMOs like EQ2 or WoW or CoH. Kill missions, fetch mission, assassinate mission... a nice touch is escort missions which can be really tough sometimes due to NPCs running around and needing protection, lots of ambushes too which are great. Each playfield has a major storyline chain and many other missions. I was so into the storyline on the first playfield that I literally played to level 9 without knowing or caring where the XP indicator was.
Instancing. I've played DDO. I have no clue where you are even getting a comparison between the two games. The shared playfields in TR are MASSIVE... they have enemy bases, caves, underground caverns, bunkers and a constant state of action with NPCs fighting all over... all kinds of stuff to explore. Having done more than 90% of missions for the first 3 playfields the % of missions for instances is about 20% vs. 80% taknig place in the shared playfield. There are 3-6 instances in each playfield, each with a deep story and numerous missions inside. They feel immersive and fun. (Also, they've just added a new type of mission called "Target of opportunity" which you get as you come across a boss or some objective in your travels, sound cool, but i haven't tried yet.)
The game does have problems such as being TOO soloable and having no end-game. There are also quite a few bugs still. But most of the stuff you mentioned is completely off-base.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
I have not been playing all that long, but so far, I agree with Torvac. I like the gamepay, the graphics look pretty good to me, and I am having alot of fun.
www.90and9.net
www.prophecymma.com
Im not trolling in any way! So don't accuse me of that please! Thats just so typical Fanboism talk you pulling out your sleeve!! Im in Beta for over a month! So yeah I have been playing!
Since the new patch yesterday, they have removed most of the few quest chains there were in the game! Making it even less appealing for brand new players coming out of the tutorial.
The comparison I draw with DDO towards instancing is the way they handled the regular zones making it heavily instances in a way there are like 7 copies of it. Thats a good way destroying ingame community forming! "Hey joe, Im in Wilderness 1 ...I cant find you?" ..."Oh ...I dont know where I am .,...oh wait ...Im in Wilderness 7". Really adds to the immersiveness of the game ...NOT!
And you pointed it perfectly ...leveling goes extremely fast. So without any endgame, most people buying this game in october will be done with it before the end of their free month!
Cheers
I do believe it needs time, but has some refreshing ideas and concepts, that are needed in these clone MMO's out there.
This is not for all the players though! If you dont fit the gameplay style TR has to offer, you might as well move along and try another one
By the way.. the patch that went live yesterday, removed a lot of content becuase they need to focus on certain elements. They will put it back next week.
From what I have played it has a lot of potential, but with the release date announced I am a bit concerned that it will die before that potential is realized and that people will just write it off as a complete failure and go back to the same old 'tried and true' EQ formula.
The combat is great at times and not so great at others, I really like the cover system as it actually makes you think about your position in the battle and can make a massive difference to the outcome of a conflict. I also like the finishing moves and experience multiplier as it encourages you to take risks and really get into the combat rather than just doing ‘fireball, fireball, fireblast, loot, drink, repeat’ like in WoW and such.
I won’t disagree it does feel a bit shallow and 'contentless' and as such needs a lot of work to really make it shine (I have only played to level 15 and haven't even seen the whole base capturing thing in action yet), but I have faith in RG and Co. and will keep playing beta and wait until launch (maybe even a few months after) before I decide to dismiss it and just play something else.
I was really happy to get the beta and test it out.
Tested it for 2 hours and un-installed it due to the game just being plain boring.
This game is not for me, sorry.
I have to say that while games do garner and generate a player's emotions (which is a good thing), there really is no need for you guys to flame one another back and forth - People will either like this game or not; simple.
Back on topic. There are a few features of the game that really could have set it apart from the rest of the crowd but fall SO short (shamefully):
1.) Logos. What an absolutely fantastic idea! It is a shame, however, that it was implemented so very poorly. Logos should really separate your character from all the other 'normal' humans...but the game just doesn't give you that "I'm special" feeling. You go around and collect countless Logos symbols, memorizing them into your tablet, then continue on your merry way in the game. There just isn't enough in-game emphasis on Logos or the use of them for your character - This is just a huge missed opportunity for the game to provide some much needed story depth and draw to the player.
2.) Character classes are just very bland. With so few abilities available to each class, and most of those abilities just being variations of other class abilities, there is a true lack of distinction among players (not only in abilities but appearance too). Shamefully, you really do not feel anymore powerful as a level 30 Spy than you did as a level 8 Recruit - You just now have some different named abilities. Overall, I found the class abilities to be very unoriginal and unimaginative and just plain dull. Looking through the Tier 4 abilities really made my Ranger sigh.
3.) The game's crafting system. WOW. I have to say that this was one of the absolute worst crafting systems I have ever seen implemented within an MMO. The crafting process is just plain boring and the items you create not only cost you more than their vendor versions but are hardly any different than vendor versions! There is just no compelling reason to craft in the game. Nevermind the fact that in order to craft, you will need to spend your valuable ability points into a crafting skill - This means NOBODY will train into crafting skills on their main character and everyone will be left with crafting alternate characters.
4.) Character cloning. What an absolutely fantastic idea that went from super to horrible in a matter of a patch. This was one of the largest draws to the game for many players and they choked it into ultra blandness. Now, you will have to "earn" your character cloning points in order to clone your character. Some character cloning points are based upon your character level, while others can be earned via in-game quests. Previously character cloning was unlimited and allowed players to explore all of the different bland character classes available. Now, character cloning is a very careful and very concious decision a player must be very concerned about making.
I think I'll steer clear for a bit until I see how the dust shakes out.....
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
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"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
If you know any game other than DnL where all players are in the same zone at the same time, I'd love to know what it is, because I don't think anyone has developed that technology.
DDO had no shared combat areas. DDO had cities with NPCs and shops and all combat was instances. In TR more than 80% of combat takes place in open, shared playfields. Furthermore, going from point A in playfield 1 to point B is playfield 2 is EXACTLY the same as going from point A in 1 to point B at 1. So if you were going to meet Joe, he would say I'm at B in 2 and you would simply pick that destination.
Use of instancing in DDO sucked. TR is nothing like it. If anything, TR took the "good" concepts from DDO (such as heavily involving quests with special events and scripted stories) and used them in an otherwise shared game. The problem with DDO wasn't that it had instanced quests, it's that it didn't have anything else. TR has plenty more.
The end-game thing scares me. However, having seen some intense group combat, there is TONS of potential for what could be done given even today's mechanics. All they have to do is add tougher AI and some dynamic high level stuff and this will be the best combat game. They don't need to change how most things work, only add tougher objectives and mobs. It can't be THAT hard to do.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
Instancing regular zones is bad! And you want to know wich games don't use instancing for regular zones?
World of Warcraft
Star Wars Galaxies
City of Heroes
...and I can go on. But I think and hope you got the point!
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Instancing regular zones were people meet is a bad thing and kills immersiveness of the game! There are plenty of things you can instance like war zones, large missions, dungeons, etc. But leave the social regular areas uninstanced!!
Sure TR didn't do it so extremely worse as DDO, thats a true example of totally madness of massive overkill on instancing!
Been in beta since May. It's just plain boring .
I love fps and rpgs but the character development is so slim that it just doesn't feel like anything at all. There's just nothing there to separate you from the crowd. Everyone that plays your class will be taking the exact same skills because everyone knows which ones are the best to take and which ones are overall useless. It's sad that there is such a limit (around six per class upgrade/change at 5, 15, 30 etc)
If they EVER stop the Bane shooting through walls it would be a miracle. From May till this last patch (uninstalled over Labor Day) I have never seen such blantent ingorance from the devs on this subject. I hope before release they at least fix this awful problem. It causes many untimely deaths and frustration.
Another problem is that over half the quests get their location marked on your map. Where's the sense of exploration here? I like good concise directions, not have everything handed to me with a map marker telling me exactly where ABC Cave is. Now once you find the cave, sure it's ok to have a map marker but geez let us use our brains a lil.
Chatbox in the upper left corner of the screen is the MOST annoying UI problem I have. Sadly you can't even move the dang thing. Is there any mmo made after 2002 that you can't move the chat box to a comfortable eye level on your screen? None of the UI can be moved, that just sheer laziness on the devs part.
Been in beta since Feb - I disagree
Honestly I wouldnt have stuck around if I found the game boring.
The game is targeted at a casual audience. You know the people who dont like to think for themselves
Way back in Feb - you had to explore to find the logos you needed for skills. People whined about that - so now you get quests for everyone in the starting area.
But later on - you need to explore to find logos you need - they arent all given to you in a quest.
Not sure if thats changing or not. They have said the U.I wont be moddable. Not sure on the customization though.
Personally some of the quests really annoy me - the log says go rescue Person X or Do something else - its urgent. But if I wander off for 3 days they dont care so it doesnt have that sense of urgency.
I disagree - who wants 5,000 people all competing for the same quest/mob/boss. Regular areas support 300 people.