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Why is Spellborn not being talked about?
Mikeha
Member EpicPosts: 9,196
Everybody is asking for something different and Spellborn seems to be that game but nobody is talking about it. 10 Days away and probaly going to be the best MMO to come out this year. This is taken from an article from EuroGamer.
There's a fatalistic sense of Daniel and the lion about what Spellborn International is set to do. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King to one side, Warhammer Online to the other, and a compelling line-up of single-player games flooding the shops, and The Chronicles of Spellborn is out on 27th November. Actually, it's like watching those YouTube videos where a curious mouse runs around a glass tank, but you know there's a tarantula in that hollow log.
Perhaps not. If Chronicles of Spellborn were another WOW clone, we'd have no illusions about its imminent crushing, but it's not. Let's consider some of the headlines. The first thing that strikes you is right on the character-creation screen - where, unusually, you get to select your armour and weapons from a pretty broad range of options. Unusually, you can pick from the same pools of armour and weapons no matter which class archetype you select - Rogue, Warrior or Mage.
This is because armour and weapons don't have statistics associated with them. They're entirely cosmetic - and while you gain access to elaborate and attractive items as you progress, the choice of armour to use rests entirely with your fashion sense. Instead, equipment has slots for Sigils (at present, only weapons and jewelry have these slots, but this will be extended to armour as well), add-ons that affect your character's statistics. These Sigils can be equipped to an item, and easily moved to another if you want to change your look.
Another unusual aspect is the stats involved. Spellborn is missing an entire class of standard MMORPG statistics - specifically, anything to do with hit or dodge ratings. The game's dispensed with behind-the-scenes dice rolls entirely. Taking its cue from action games, it lets players and NPCs alike properly target their attacks instead. If you want to hit an enemy, you need to be targeting him properly; if you want to dodge an attack, you just dive out of the way. It turns combat into a fast-paced and exciting affair, where you need to keep moving around to avoid enemy attacks while positioning yourself to pummel foes. Many attacks (especially on the Rogue archetype, and its three sub-classes) are more powerful delivered to the back, so you spend a lot of time trying to get behind your enemies.
Where this really comes into its own is in the game's assortment of buffs and debuffs. Many attacks deliver an associated debuff - and many of those debuffs affect an enemy's movement speed, which prevents them from dodging or avoiding rear attacks quite so effectively. In player-versus-player combat this becomes crucial, since a target who's unable to move as fast as you is essentially a sitting duck.
The buff and debuff system has also allowed Spellborn to innovate in other ways. For a start, there's the game's atypical approach to healing. While one class does have a direct healing spell, every single class has access to healing of some kind - and it's often by means of a buff or debuff, such as one applied to an enemy which heals the attacker with each successful blow. The result is that groups don't necessarily need a "priest" class in their mix, as long as everyone knows what they're doing with the healing powers available to them. It's another factor that contributes to the pace, with most healing dependent on staying in the thick of battle.
It's also worth mentioning the game's AI. After a few hours of play you notice that Spellborn's foes don't behave like anything else you've seen in an MMORPG. For a start, they dodge and weave to avoid your attacks, which is understandable given the game's decision not to have any dice-roll based avoidance. And there are other, subtler things going on here too. We noticed this first when a wolf started running away even though we'd only hit it a couple of times. Suspecting a bug, we ran after it. We blundered through a bush after the wolf - only to discover ourselves surrounded by four more wolves, to whom the original target had deliberately led us. Clever girl.
Human targets are more intelligent still. They normally come in a group of varied classes - a mage with a handful of melee types, typically - and they adapt intelligently to your strategies as well as to the make-up of your own party. If you stand back and fling arrows and ranged attacks, the melee classes stand in front of the caster to shield him while he returns the favour. Charge in, and they deliberately target your own caster classes to reduce your group's damage output. Leading you away from whatever or whoever they're protecting, and towards more groups of enemies, is also on the cards.
To any fan of an action game, this won't sound revolutionary, but it's an eye-opener in an MMORPG. We've come to expect enemies to behave like demons in the original Doom - they run at you in a straight line and attack, occasionally firing off a special move. Enemies who circle around, try to move the battle to a more advantageous area or physically block your ranged attacks on their allies require a different level of situational awareness.
The final innovation is the Skill Deck. This is the beating heart of Spellborn's combat system, and after several hours, we're unsure whether it's a stroke of absolute genius or madness. It's a skill bar, much as you've seen in every other MMORPG, but it rotates. When you fire off a skill, the bar turns around and reveals the next set of skills to you, and continues doing so until it loops back to the first tier. As a result, the game becomes a delicate exercise in filling out the skills on these tiers so that you align their various abilities. If you want an attack to take advantage of a debuff, the debuff needs to be on a higher tier. Attacks which start a combo need to come before the other parts of the combo... Woe betide you if you manage to fill a tier entirely with skills that are on a cool-down when you rotate around to that face of the cylinder, because you'll stand around like a lemon while you wait for one of them to become available.
It actually sounds quite simple when we put it in those terms. It's not. Within a few levels, you've picked up a handful of skills and abilities, and the number of Skill Deck tiers available to you has expanded greatly, leaving you with a lot of juggling, experimentation, and trial-and-error to go through to get your Deck working just so. It's a bizarre kind of customisation, but an extremely interesting one - not least because we don't get the impression there'll be a single "best solution" that everyone copies from a Wiki site within a fortnight. Everyone's Skill Deck will be personalised and filled with combo chains that make sense.
Let's pull back for a moment and look at some of the more superficial stuff. Spellborn is promising to be a heavily quest-oriented game, with grinding really not on the menu - you level up through "Fame" rather than experience points, and Fame comes from completing quests, not killing wolves where nobody can see you. It also promises a hefty dose of PVP, with every zone outside of the starting area being a PVP free-for-all at present. Later, the team is thinking of creating factional PVP based on your alignment to the five Great Houses of Spellborn's world, but it's not likely to happen for launch.
Graphics are mixed. Comments from the developer suggest the engine and the artwork has evolved rapidly in recent months, with entire zones overhauled on a regular basis, and it shows. Some zones are beautiful, with soft lighting and few hard lines in evidence - reminiscent of the art style of Fable more than anything else. We expect (with some measure of optimism, but the pace of improvement really is stunning) all the zones to be up to that standard by launch. We're less excited about the character designs. Character art in the game is exaggerated and cartoony, which is fine, but it's also very low-polygon and rough around the edges compared to the environments themselves. It's a shame, because the first encounter most people have with a game's visuals is the character-creation screen. Throwing a few more polygons (and a lot more options) at the characters would make a big difference here.
Perhaps in recognition of the lion's den that it's walking into this November, the Spellborn team has also come up with a good way of getting the game in front of players: the first section will be entirely free to play. You can create a character, run around and take part in quests and so on, but if you're still enjoying it and want to explore, you'll need to pay a subscription fee. It's a clever approach. Few people are going to walk into a shop looking for Warhammer and walk out with Spellborn instead, but plenty of us will download a game and try out the starting zone for free. If Spellborn's impressive catalogue of innovations pulls together into a compelling experience, we can see this as a cult hit in the making. There's plenty of work still to do, but we'll let you know how things are looking at launch.
Comments
TCOS was a game I was really hyped about for a while and then I found Aion and the hype just kinda faded away..I'll probably still try it tho.
This game has peeked my interest. I wasn't paying much attention to it hoping other game would be good but now that I am more interested in games that are different in what ever way, then I give tCoS a whirl.
I find many of the Asian games are getting better then the used to be.
""But Coyote, you could learn! You only prefer keyboard and mouse because that's all you've ever known!" You might say right before you hug a rainforest and walk in sandals to your drum circle where you're trying to raise group consciousness of ladybugs or whatever it is you dirty goddamn hippies do when you're not busy smoking pot and smelling bad."
Coyote's Howling: Death of the Computer
Its not surprising noone talks about the game it has no hype, barely any advertisment, its 10 days away from release and there has been very little news about it on their main site which in reality the majority of their community goes.
Its nice a game for once is not being over hyped but they have been releasing barely any information about the game when it is so close to release. To be honest if it was not for the free trial area they plan to have at launch, which means no open beta, then I probably would not even give this game a chance because despite how different the game sounds and looks I am getting fed up of wasting money to see if a game is any good.
Theres quite alot about spellborn that is questionable, for instance they do not seem to have a clear idea of whether they are a PvE game or a PvP game, you can not be both they just do not mix.
They do not have any death penalty, you can only level through quests, they have mentioned they will have alot of instancing even though they say it is just for the starting zones and dungeons thats still a point that many do not like.
They plan to focus on small group and solo gameplay, which initself is okay but there is a large risk that this will mean the game will feel like a single player have noone talking, and generally will make most wonder why they are paying to play it.
It is very obvious from interviews and previews of the game that they will release with limited content and plan to grow on it from there, that is not a bad idea, but theres a good chance that the majority that pick it up will complete all the content and just get bored and leave never to look back. It has happened to so many mmos I would not be surprised if it happened to spellborn.
I will still try the game since I am not risking anything playing the trial, but it is quite obvious why there is no hype for this game. Spellborn will really have to rely on word of mouth to be a success, because there is a lot about it that put people off instantly.
I dont think anyone has a right to complain about WoW clones or lack of originality though if they do not atleast try the games free trial. Lack of focus of items, skill based combat, potentially great ai, hybrid classes, and so on is about as different as you can get and it is atleast a step in the right direction ie risking being different.
I'm interested in seeing how the skill deck works. Sounds like it could be fun. But the aspect lacking from recent MMOs for me is immersion. The way you can walk the entire world of WoW. Tabula Rasa and WAR both seemed like a series of maps to me rather than an immersive world. Neither had decent crafting either. If TCoS delivers in these areas then I'll give it a go. Don't like the sound of a lot of instancing though.
The buff and debuff system has also allowed Spellborn to innovate in other ways. For a start, there's the game's atypical approach to healing. While one class does have a direct healing spell, every single class has access to healing of some kind - and it's often by means of a buff or debuff, such as one applied to an enemy which heals the attacker with each successful blow. The result is that groups don't necessarily need a "priest" class in their mix, as long as everyone knows what they're doing with the healing powers available to them. It's another factor that contributes to the pace, with most healing dependent on staying in the thick of battle.
that paragraph alone increased my hype tenfold. sounds like guildwars and aoc in some ways, but no healer class with all classes acess to healing is what I have been waiting for. I don't much like the art style but i'm also waiting for a twitch mmo and this might be the one
reckon i'll be playing this until swtor or global agenda.
I hope they do introduce some faction/team based pvp alwell as FFA. FFA on its own gets boring fast.
PS: I was kind of looking forward to this game coming out a year ago (albiet less than aoc), hope it actually comes out.
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I like that too. I would like to try out this game mechanic and see if it's as fun as it sounds, and also if this succeeds in encouraging grouping, and what the grouping xp is like.
The character customization sounds cool as well. You pick what you want to wear, and the stats you gain later in gear can be transferred to whatever you are wearing, which means everyone isn't wearing the same gear, because it's the best at that level. You might all have similar stats, but you can look different.
However, I don't really get the horse legs look on some of the characters. What's that all about?
I have been following this game for a couple years now and I am very excited for it's release. This is a David and Goliath situation. David (TCoS) will not kill the Goliath (WoW) but I think it will sneak up on it and kick it in the nuts. Ouch!
There are a couple of reasons why but IMHO here is the main one -
Its just more fantasy.
All it really has to say for itself is a gimicky skill bar. I watched it on a dev interview, it's still the same old, some old but with a few minor twist and slightly different art style. There are literally dozens of fantasy grinders out there and its going to take a lot more then a rotating skill bar to compete with all that junk.
Almost everything you listed is all under the hood mechanics but how is it going to be any different from anything else out there?
How is Spellborn going to grab you by the shirt and drag you into an emersive fantasy world that even the most jaded gamer would lose himself for hours in? Answer - its not. And thats what its going to take to compete these days. I wish them luck. Hopefully they put out a game that can at least sustain itself for awhile.
i saw a video of a pvp battle and it really looked like a cluster fuck, everyone was moving close to hit then they would back up for everytime they hit. Thats not the kind of combat i want in my game
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
I'm so glad that TCOS is not overhyped like most of other games released last years. It will be really great game and ppls will not expect much from it so much more will not left disapointed.
Where themepark games try to hide that they are copying WOW, games like Mortal Online and Darkfall make no attempt to hide their inspiration
______\m/_____
LordOfDarkDesire
This game has totally slipped under the radar. With WAR and the farcical Darkfall development stealing all the headlines, TCoS might just turn into a sleeper hit.
I'll definitely be trying it on release.
They don't put in enough air miles... like AOC and WAR devs did.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
I'm very excited for release. I'm a closed beta tester
I'm not a Closed Beta tester and I am excited about it too.
You should be
This is misleading. Saying it's just more fantasy is like saying if you've read WIzard of Oz there's no need to read Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter or Running with a Demon.
THe tone, worlds, themes and so on are very different making them a fresh experience onto themselves.
Spellborn's idea of mixing in pvp to support the dark fantasy elements of its world where the people you play as fight each other for political control sounds intriguing. Their usage of time travel quests to influence the live world will be very epic if that is still in the game. Their focus on discussing the backstory almost as much as the gameplay reinforces their commitment to trying to elevate story above what past MMOs have done.
These days I have my doubts on whether or not they'll be able to pull it off because the background on certain factions has changed noticeably over the past year but I think it's safe to say they are going to make a strong attempt at introducing refreshing fantasy concepts.
There are some cool aspects, like stats on your character instead of your clothing/armor. This is great for a person that likes to play dress up with their toons. Also the skill deck sounds interesting....it could be great or it could suck.
They don't put much out there to advertise their game. I suspect that is why so little hype.
The art style could put some people off. I'm on the fence myself until I see it in person. I'll definitely give the free trial a shot and if it's fun, well maybe I'll drop my LOTRO account.
The humanoids with the reversed legs and the horns at elbows and knees are the Daevi - the other playable race. They are allied with the humans. Basically just adding more variety to how you want your character to look, since there are no racial stat bonuses that I'm aware of.
This game is below a lot of people's radar. It's too bad really, because I think it will offer a rather unique experience.
The game is OK but nothing more .... and it will end up a Free to Play game without doubt.
Also they have started a huge problem fo themselve with excluding the UK fro the EU.
I've been in Beta and yeah I might have subbed , but not now or ever while the have this policy of Excluding the UK and IP blocking.
I can see another AoC all over again ... when are these people going to learn not to be so arrogant and piss of a large portion of their potential customers even before its released. Beggars belief that they are so stupid too .
People like you really don't have anything better to do, don't you? I mean, in the 1.5 year I have been following this game, I never saw you posting, but now acclaim might be giving the EU a IP block, you are all over the forums, trolling.
News flash, Frogster might not be IP blocking, which leads in.. oh yea UK players be playing on the EU server. I agree with you if there comes really a IP block, but at this time, it isn't a fact yet.
Also, don't blame the devs for it. It is Acclaim who is doing it. The devs have shown alot of competence, only Acclaim fails.
And so do you.
I've been following the progress for a while now, looks good and after the few hours I spent on the EU beta I'm looking forward to it. The combat it new and takes a little bit to get used to (but a nice change from the ordinary) and the AI is pretty good. I like the fact that it's primarily skill point based too.
The main reason it's not well advertised has to do with the fact that it's not being released by a well known dev company and they only recently chose Acclaim to host it in the US. With a non time based free trial, how could you not try it?
Frogster might or might not block the other publisher, Mindscape - they did not say that they won't ban IPs from the countries they do not publish in.
In OB news they said that they will run OB only in 11 countries and everyone else is IP banned from it. They also said that it most likely will happen for the release, so everyone who does not live in those 11 countries is screwed. Devs themselves IP ban them from their own account creation page.
People like you really don't have anything better to do, don't you? I mean, in the 1.5 year I have been following this game, I never saw you posting, but now acclaim might be giving the EU a IP block, you are all over the forums, trolling.
News flash, Frogster might not be IP blocking, which leads in.. oh yea UK players be playing on the EU server. I agree with you if there comes really a IP block, but at this time, it isn't a fact yet.
Also, don't blame the devs for it. It is Acclaim who is doing it. The devs have shown alot of competence, only Acclaim fails.
And so do you.
Now Now Dont be silly
Sounds like CoH/CoV to me (except the skill stack thingy).
No death penalty? No grinding?!?!
WTF, this just means a linear ultra-boring game. It sounds like it will be at least as bad as WAR.
I got news for Dev's out there... Quest grinding is not more fun than MOB grinding. Hell, at least during MOB grinding I can choose where I want to go, what I want to hunt, and I don't have to keep running back to town to get the next stage of the *quest*.
So, for once, I am going to avoid buying the next MMORPG.
I really WAS very excited about it. But after showing and defending it to me friends and guild mates for more than a year, I had to step back.
Well boys, you can try even a chinese games in chinese, but for TCoS we live in an alternative reality. Spain is out of this world to Mindscape, Frogster and Acclaim, so is imposible for us to try or buy (I could by it, but not play it).