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Worst trial ever...
merv808
Member UncommonPosts: 511
I was REALLY excited to be able to try this game, I wanted to see the character development and mission maps. So I tried the demo. The demo advertises that you can play until lvl 15, which is pointless because when you level you just stockpile points because there's no where you can go to spend the points on new powers. You don't really get to interact with the regular community, so I still don't know about that. Basically I spent a few hours playing through the 4 or 5 missions they give you, and I still know NOTHING about the game. The most fun I had was creating my character.
Sorry Cryptic, but if you want me to go buy the box, you have got to show me more. Thanks for wasting my time.
Comments
Actually the games fun and appeal is all front loaded, so basically you can now get the best of CO for free... Given the progress so far I suspect odds are good that the free period will soon extend, although ironically there's nothing to look forward to if it does.
Basically Cryptic seem to have exhausted all their imagination and skill on aspects of the game that occupy 5% or less of your play experience =/
You do know what a trial means right? It's doesn't mean you get full unrestricted access for 15 levels so you can be content with never wanting to go pass level 15 and play only on the trial server. It means you are suppose to get an idea of how the game is played and base on that idea, weigh the just of that in purchasing the whole unrestricted game......
I don't know any P2P trials that give you full access to everything.....do you?
"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas."
You do know what a trial means right? It's doesn't mean you get full unrestricted access for 15 levels so you can be content with never wanting to go pass level 15 and play only on the trial server. It means you are suppose to get an idea of how the game is played and base on that idea, weigh the just of that in purchasing the whole unrestricted game......
I don't know any P2P trials that give you full access to everything.....do you?
This is an unlimited playtime Free Demo "demonstration?" a demonstration to represent the game, a teaser if you will. The fun part of downloading such a huge file and waiting for patch, only to find out that this demo does not have the selling point to excite and tease players to wanna know more about it. Most have come to this conclusion on CO forum, actual stories about friends wanted show them how fun CO is with the new demo, but they couldn't. The friend unknown to CO, would only find the costume part fun, but the rest is too generic, too common, seen that done that. A dime a dozen!
The Function of Demo? To excite people and to eventually draw more subs. Sadly enough this Demo does not have enough meat on it to do just that compared to other demo's. I would really love to hear from people that actually downloaded the file and patch and give a honest answer if the demo has a selling point in it. To simply say, it is a trial or it is completely free why are you complaining without even really experiencing the demo, is too easy and does not give a real and honest objective opinion about the demo.
Cryptic wants more subs, but this demo will just scare them away
Ofcourse there's always the fear of showing too much of the game, but if you visited the CO forums there are plenty of ideas and suggestions on how to contain all the demo players without sacreficing the whole game.
I was in the closed beta for Champions Online, and I can't say I was impressed with anything the game had to offer.
City of Heroes/Villains > Champions Online
To be fair to the OP, if the trial truely has no access to a powerhouse then it sucks. If you want to sell people on the game you have to at least give them access to travel powers. Anything before that isn't going to cut it.
Currently Playing: The Game
Ramonski7, there's no need to take such a condescending tone. The fact of the matter is that at no time did Cryptic mention that players who did the trial were confined to the tutorial zone only. Instead, they played up the fact that you could play up to level 15. And while they were upfront with the fact that you were only allowed 2 character slots, they neglected to say that all the quests in said zone could be completed by level 6. Not all trial zones are that restricted; Age of Conan may not give players full access to the game, but their tutorial zone does give them 20 levels worth of content to (in your words) "get an idea of how the game is played".
All this could have been avoided if Cryptic simply included in their promotional blurb that the trial was limited to the tutorial zone only. As much as I want to give Cryptic the benefit of the doubt here, their offer comes off like a classic 'bait and switch' move - something that could cost them people who initially were interested in the game.
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. - Marie Curie
Don't worry OP you didn't miss much. The game becomes repetitive real quick, the content is overly campy and childish. There are better MMOs out there.
You do know what a trial means right? It's doesn't mean you get full unrestricted access for 15 levels so you can be content with never wanting to go pass level 15 and play only on the trial server. It means you are suppose to get an idea of how the game is played and base on that idea, weigh the just of that in purchasing the whole unrestricted game......
I don't know any P2P trials that give you full access to everything.....do you?
The DDO (before it went free) trial was essentially that. The only restriction was that you couldn't send mail.
You do know what a trial means right? It's doesn't mean you get full unrestricted access for 15 levels so you can be content with never wanting to go pass level 15 and play only on the trial server. It means you are suppose to get an idea of how the game is played and base on that idea, weigh the just of that in purchasing the whole unrestricted game......
I don't know any P2P trials that give you full access to everything.....do you?
I absolutely understand what trial means. Apparantly Cryptic doesn't. I never asked for full access into the game, and I'm perfectly fine with being restricted to an area. For me though, character development is a huge part of any RPG or MMORPG, and not allowing trial players to even experience a "full" level up, doesn't cut it. I was looking for something in that demo to distinguish the game from CoH (which I played for a while) I didn't see it, in fact, it felt just like thier demo did years ago. Hell the Vanguard trial restricts you to one area, but I was still able to get a complete feel for the game and how it works.
You do know what a trial means right? It's doesn't mean you get full unrestricted access for 15 levels so you can be content with never wanting to go pass level 15 and play only on the trial server. It means you are suppose to get an idea of how the game is played and base on that idea, weigh the just of that in purchasing the whole unrestricted game......
I don't know any P2P trials that give you full access to everything.....do you?
Why is it I get the feeling this was a knee-jerk post. I doubt you played CO at all. If you did, then it would be obvious to you that new players would get no access to the Powerhouse. So he cant even pick new powers (you know, like a Travel power).
So ya, I think the OP's observation is justified here
You do know what a trial means right? It's doesn't mean you get full unrestricted access for 15 levels so you can be content with never wanting to go pass level 15 and play only on the trial server. It means you are suppose to get an idea of how the game is played and base on that idea, weigh the just of that in purchasing the whole unrestricted game......
I don't know any P2P trials that give you full access to everything.....do you?
I know of one that comes very close. Istaria has unlimited free play with the restrictions of one playable race (human) and character, no player housing, and fewer consignment slots. Other than those restrictions you are free to play your human to maximum level and experience the entire game, on a public server. If any of these game owners are confident in their product, then they should not be afraid to offer a trial that will actually let players have a true taste of what they can expect.
Honestly this is one of the worst trials ever. Imo of course. But really your suppose to get 15 levels in the starter zone using your two powers FANTASTIC. I thought that they would at least give you access to one of next zones (Canada , Burning Sands) but alas not so Cryptic sure knows how to kick you in the nuts. Yes I understand that this is a trial and your not suppose to get the full game but getting to level 15 without additional powers make this whole thing hollow. I was excited when I heard about this becuase I thought "Right on! I will just fly around kicking the crap out of stuff and do PvP". That dream quickly died when in about an hour and a half I find out im stuck in the start zone. This is one of the most limited trials I have seen. Most companies go with the 15 days go as far as you can then pay to continue method which seems to work pretty well I would have to say because people get a full view of what they will be paying for if they choose to continue. Champions Online/ Warhammer for example went the other way with the play free forever with level cap. HUGE HUGE HUGE difference between the WAR experience and the CO one though. Both your stuck in the starter zones yes. Both limited to what you can do yes. Diffrence is WAR can actually show off what the game is and what you can expect in later game play. Go into the WAR free trial anytime of the day or night and theres always constant RvR going on, always people doing PQs and grouping you just get an actual feel for the game. CO trial in its current state is a waste of time. You get to farm the Ironclad defense. yay? No pvp. No powers. No substance at all. Trials are meant to get people into your game to play it and eventually buy it this seems more like a bad teaser than anything else. The one upside is I still have the character I made at launch so even though he gets bumped down to 15 I still get my travel power and some other ones and Im not stuck in the starter zone (yay). But for everyone else your just shit out of luck with this trial.
Holy flaming gerbils!
What were they thinking? The game only has two selling points - the character creator and the freedom of power selection.
For all that it's a damn fine character creator - it's not enough that you'd buy and subscribe to the game for it.
15 levels stuck in that tutorial zone? If I'd downloaded that free trial and that's all I saw I wouldn't want to cough up money to see more, I'd be majorly peeved about the wasted download.
It's almost like they're deliberately trying to run the game into the ground...
Would you rather not have a trial at all and possibly waste your money?
I, personally, am loving this game.
That screenshot it completely random.
Playing - Champions Online
Unsure Of - Darkfall, Star Trek Online
Waiting For - Star Wars: The Old Republic, All Points Bulletin
Played - Age Of Conan, Everquest II, Mabinogi, Tabula Rasa, Star Wars Galaxies, World Of Warcraft
I agree with the OP, the free trial is a worthless joke. Why would they advertise you can play until level 15, when really you can play until about level 5. It is the worst "trial" I've ever played.
I dont think we need "trial" defined, it's not as they advertised and it sure as hell wont get me to play their game. they should just advertise the free trial as you can do the tutorial for free and nothing else, and why the hell would they not allow us some skill progression in free trial? I basically feel like I know nothing about the game from the free trial. Not being allowed to get out of the tutorial to see the actual community, not being able to mess with skill progression, even slightly is probably not the way to go to attract new players.
If a game is so front-loaded that a low level trial will satisfy players, then there is something horribly wrong with the design.
Warhammer Online had this problem - so Mythic greatly diminished the trial experience, rather than improving the rest of the game. Idiots.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I agree on this being one of the worst trials I've played. A few friends and I wanted to give it a go over Christmas and after spending a good hour in character creation (as others said, the best part) we found that we weren't able to group with each other, or trade items we found while in the trial. We then ran through the trial area in about 30 minutes (grouping wouldn't have made much difference anyway, but that's not the point.) Everyone was in agreement to delete it immediately after. The game just wasn't fun for us and without a tease of what to look forward to, I saw no reason to keep playing, even with the cheap sale price on Steam.
The two vital parts of an MMO are the starting areas and end game.
A trial should give a clear view of both. A level-limited starting character (which can be deleted for a reroll), and a max level trial character which is erased once your account is upgraded.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
By that you mean the initial creation of your character? You can't be talking about the tutorial? Surely the nemesis system is more fun than the tutorial? I never got the chance to test it in beta.
Why is it I get the feeling this was a knee-jerk post. I doubt you played CO at all. If you did, then it would be obvious to you that new players would get no access to the Powerhouse. So he cant even pick new powers (you know, like a Travel power).
So ya, I think the OP's observation is justified here
Do you think they have only the one area to keep the size of the demo down? Any other reason would just be flat out silly. Either way, yeah... no powerhouse= no new powers= the gimpization of the most appealing feature of the game. And yeah, to claim a level 15 cap in a place that will only give you missions to lvl 6 and mobs to grind XP up to maybe level 12... SOMEBODY 's not playing with a full deck at Cryptic.
Seems they could AT LEAST load the demo with a portal to a power house. Do that, eliminate the level 15 claim, and they'd have a DECENT demo.
You're looking at this from the wrong angle.
It's not about satisfying free-triallers. It's about hooking them.
They're interested enough to download the free trial client and play for a bit but not interested enough to buy it. So the aim of the free trial is give them a nudge over that line and make them reach for their credit card.
Do you honestly think that there's anything good enough in the tutorial zone to do that?
You don't hook people with a bland, featureless experience.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
That is all true but they still could have made a better job, this is what they are supposed to catch new players with.
AoC shows you Tortage and 20 levels,the best part of the game. In EQ2 you can see everything but not trade or level past 20.. In WAR you get unlimited play in T1.
If you want to get new players you must make their experience fun. Hopefully will they realize that and make a better trial.
Uh, no. You don't. You get unlimited time - but only in one racial pairing. You can't travel to the other two racial zones, or the capital city. It is quite limited.
The old trial was better, frankly.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
You don't hook people with a bland, featureless experience.
That right there is the problem with the CO trial lol.
The tutorial is made for levels 1-5... why make these trial spend 15 levels in there???? After level 5 there really isn't anything for them to do. Grinding mobs with the same two powers and no travel power for 10 levels? Why???
I pitty the trial players lol, while I am not overly fond of CO it was fun the first play through. These trial players aren't going to even get a glimpse at the fun side of CO. While it is a short lived fun side, it is a fun side lol.
Imagine how many are going to try the game with this trial and leave disgusted thinking that CO combat is extremely slow paced, that traveling is going to take forever, thats its a horrible grind lol.