For myself personally the most troubling news coming from the beta is that this is looking like it could be another 'solo to level cap' game and if that's true and no body really wants to group I'll be so disappointed, I could live with some bugs on release and with balancing still needing to be done as these are more or less par the course in MMO launches.
I have nothing against people being able to solo the game, options are always good, but I don't think it should ever be the most optimal way to level your character. Games like WoW more or less punish you for grouping up to quest and I'm simply tired, so very tired, of people playing an MMO and then not wanting to group in case it hinders their mad rush to reach level cap and the start of the collect em up that is modern MMO end game.
SE could release the most polished and stable MMO ever but if it's going to be a mostly solo affair then I'll pass thanks. Bioware and Bethesda do single player infinitely better than any MMO game so I have no intention of playing another solo MMORPG. Solo MMORPGs, surely there is a contradiction in the very idea of that for a start, just have terrible communities and in my mind community should be the foundation of any MMO.
Theres only 3 thins that would make me quite playing FFXIV, after playing the beta and knowing what SE is trying to do.
1 - The armory system ends up in a mess.Im really scared with this.
2 - Not having similar end game content as FFXI.( of course this will take a while to see)
2 - What you said above.
I couldnt care less whatever everyone else is bitching about , UI/slow combat/Mouse controls/ etc.This is all it matters to me at this point.
For myself personally the most troubling news coming from the beta is that this is looking like it could be another 'solo to level cap' game and if that's true and no body really wants to group I'll be so disappointed, I could live with some bugs on release and with balancing still needing to be done as these are more or less par the course in MMO launches.
I have nothing against people being able to solo the game, options are always good, but I don't think it should ever be the most optimal way to level your character. Games like WoW more or less punish you for grouping up to quest and I'm simply tired, so very tired, of people playing an MMO and then not wanting to group in case it hinders their mad rush to reach level cap and the start of the collect em up that is modern MMO end game.
SE could release the most polished and stable MMO ever but if it's going to be a mostly solo affair then I'll pass thanks. Bioware and Bethesda do single player infinitely better than any MMO game so I have no intention of playing another solo MMORPG. Solo MMORPGs, surely there is a contradiction in the very idea of that for a start, just have terrible communities and in my mind community should be the foundation of any MMO.
From what I've seen in the Beta there is going to be an awful lot of grouping needed to level the combat classes (Magic / Melee / Ranged) and the only classes people may get fairly far with solo are the crafting / gathering classes. Sure you can solo the starter quests VIA that difficulty setting... but in the end I'm sure SE will make the hardest difficulty worthwhile.
From what I understand some mobs drop required parts crafters will need, so even then the harder mobs that require a group crafters will be forced to take part injust for materials.
For myself personally the most troubling news coming from the beta is that this is looking like it could be another 'solo to level cap' game and if that's true and no body really wants to group I'll be so disappointed, I could live with some bugs on release and with balancing still needing to be done as these are more or less par the course in MMO launches.
I have nothing against people being able to solo the game, options are always good, but I don't think it should ever be the most optimal way to level your character. Games like WoW more or less punish you for grouping up to quest and I'm simply tired, so very tired, of people playing an MMO and then not wanting to group in case it hinders their mad rush to reach level cap and the start of the collect em up that is modern MMO end game.
SE could release the most polished and stable MMO ever but if it's going to be a mostly solo affair then I'll pass thanks. Bioware and Bethesda do single player infinitely better than any MMO game so I have no intention of playing another solo MMORPG. Solo MMORPGs, surely there is a contradiction in the very idea of that for a start, just have terrible communities and in my mind community should be the foundation of any MMO.
While this was surely true at the start of beta phase 3, things have changed dramatically. Standing around an Aetheryte, you'll always hear someone offering out party invites to do Leves together. It's quite refreshing to be playing a game with a community that willfully helps each other out (when, frankly, they could just solo the Leves for less reward.)
I appreciate you posting this information and your personal take on the game. I've recommended this thread in another as a place to share additional constructive feedback and information.
I never bothered trying to use the keyboard setup everyone is bitching about, my brother insists it works just fine but I chose to skip it in favor of using my already owned PS3 controller. Setup took about 30 minutes because I'm on a 64-bit OS but once it was installed properly it worked like a charm. I LOVE IT, I WISH I COULD PLAY EVERY MMO WITH A CONTROLLER NOW... it's so much more relaxing than hovering over a keyboard all the time.
This is my feeling too about Gamepad _(o.o)_/cheer
The potential is there, but a lot more need to be done to make the game good enough for September.
I'm actually playing the game using keyboard+mouse right now, and it's working quite nicely (still needs work though).
Playing Pugilist is awesome, 4 attacks per round is great.
There, that's my Beta insight.
If I may, what is so "different" about the keyboard and mouse for this game. This is the first time that idea of trouble with controls has ever come up for me.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
There will be no video, sorry... this is just a written summary of my Beta Experience thus far (2 days)
Background:
I won't type out some long winded BS, long story short I enjoy all types of games... though to be honest I am a huge fan of PVP and MMO's like Darkfall Online.
I like the fact each race has different "tribes" that look slightly (or vastly) different, overall the system works and characters look good. I'd love to see more options however, if no more options are put in for launch we'll likely have a lot of people looking nearly the same.
Controls:
I never bothered trying to use the keyboard setup everyone is bitching about, my brother insists it works just fine but I chose to skip it in favor of using my already owned PS3 controller. Setup took about 30 minutes because I'm on a 64-bit OS but once it was installed properly it worked like a charm. I LOVE IT, I WISH I COULD PLAY EVERY MMO WITH A CONTROLLER NOW... it's so much more relaxing than hovering over a keyboard all the time.
Introduction / New Player Help:
The introduction was cool, not too long as to make it a chore so perfect. Once you get to the city the overall introduction to the basics of the gameplay is done well with a longish first quest that will take roughly an hour or more if you watch all the cutscenes. After the quest is done however you're left to fend for yourself.... and I've found myself wondering how to join the city guilds... and god help me but I just don't know how to craft in the game even though I've asked the NPCs for advice. Long story short they need an introduction to crafting, badly.
Combat:
Faster than everyone was moaning about, it's engaging and I love how you can mix up abilities from the other classes... so many options. Oh and another thing, it's actually HARD! Thank you god a game with challenge for a change.
The world feels alive, the city is full of NPCs and players and all the little things I've always wanted to see in an MMO are there. Even without the players it would feel like a world that is physically there, that's a big compliment from me right there. The storyline also seems interesting, I've actually been compelled to read everything every NPC says.
Things I was worried about but no longer concern me:
Performance - I have a rig that was top of the line two years ago, I can run the Beta at near full settings without a hiccup
No Jumping - I actually now like the fact it's not part of the game... would break the illusion of it being an actual world if I was watching people bunny-hop everywhere.
Controls - Like I said above, I love it
No PVP - As you read above I love my PVP, and before you say anything I know this game has no meaningful PVP content. For once I am choosing a game with content over a game with the ability to kill other players... I need content, I need storyline and to feel like I'm part of an actual world. This game has finally done that for me.
I'll cap it off there for now, I may type out more once I've had more time in the game to experience more.
P.S. If you know a good linkshell my brother and I may be interested in joining. Were both 23 (Twins) and plan to play this game fairly hardcore (at least at launch)
Lol you think the intrtoduction was done well...
You start on the ship they say kill these 3 mobs, Do they explain combat at all? No they dont you are just suposted to know how it works. Once your done with that you reach shore were you are left to figure out the rest of the game with not so much as a hint of how to go about it. So your left with just running around talking to every NPC in the damn city ( not fun at all) .
They do not explain crafting or combat or quests or even how to go about geting them. They do not explain the armory system or any of it.
The games system works well but the game its self is not fun due to the amount of time they make you put into just finding the npc you need to even start the local leve quest .
If they make an indepth tutorial and actually explain how systems work and if they made it easyer to find npc's that give quests or in leve quests case to get mats to start it, then maybe i could see it being fun and have more people then ffxi did witch is just managing to stay a float.
cool
so if this is true about having to learn the game on your own and everything isn't handed to you on a silver platter +10 for this game
might actually remove the -10 it gets for the absence of collision
so if this is true about having to learn the game on your own and everything isn't handed to you on a silver platter +10 for this game
might actually remove the -10 it gets for the absence of collision
It has collision - sort of. If you run into another player or npc, you'll stop in front of them for a sec - if you keep trying to move the same direction you'll then start slowly walking through them and then pass through completely. Better than nothing though, eh?
The potential is there, but a lot more need to be done to make the game good enough for September.
I'm actually playing the game using keyboard+mouse right now, and it's working quite nicely (still needs work though).
Playing Pugilist is awesome, 4 attacks per round is great.
There, that's my Beta insight.
If I may, what is so "different" about the keyboard and mouse for this game. This is the first time that idea of trouble with controls has ever come up for me.
It plays more like a console game than the usual MMO keyboard/ mouse layout.The mouse camera doesnt work as "fast" as other mmo´s or so people said, im playing on k/m atm and is not really that bad( once hardware mouse acceleration is in i think it will be OK, is not that troublesome as people say it is anymore) . So mainly the diference is that you can play with a controler as well.
The potential is there, but a lot more need to be done to make the game good enough for September.
I'm actually playing the game using keyboard+mouse right now, and it's working quite nicely (still needs work though).
Playing Pugilist is awesome, 4 attacks per round is great.
There, that's my Beta insight.
If I may, what is so "different" about the keyboard and mouse for this game. This is the first time that idea of trouble with controls has ever come up for me.
It plays more like a console game than the usual MMO keyboard/ mouse layout.The mouse camera doesnt work as "fast" as other mmo´s or so people said, im playing on k/m atm and is not really that bad( once hardware mouse acceleration is in i think it will be OK, is not that troublesome as people say it is anymore) . So mainly the diference is that you can play with a controler as well.
From what I've heard - it's just like FFXI in this regard. If you use the keyboard, you'll probably end up discarding use of the mouse for the purposes of movement, since it ends up being less cumbersome to pivot the camera with the arrow keys (or I think J and L keys my beta tester friend told me he used).
The potential is there, but a lot more need to be done to make the game good enough for September.
I'm actually playing the game using keyboard+mouse right now, and it's working quite nicely (still needs work though).
Playing Pugilist is awesome, 4 attacks per round is great.
There, that's my Beta insight.
If I may, what is so "different" about the keyboard and mouse for this game. This is the first time that idea of trouble with controls has ever come up for me.
It plays more like a console game than the usual MMO keyboard/ mouse layout.The mouse camera doesnt work as "fast" as other mmo´s or so people said, im playing on k/m atm and is not really that bad( once hardware mouse acceleration is in i think it will be OK, is not that troublesome as people say it is anymore) . So mainly the diference is that you can play with a controler as well.
From what I've heard - it's just like FFXI in this regard. If you use the keyboard, you'll probably end up discarding use of the mouse for the purposes of movement, since it ends up being less cumbersome to pivot the camera with the arrow keys (or I think J and L keys my beta tester friend told me he used).
Naa, since stage 3 it plays way better than 11 on this set up. There is still room for improvement tought.Altought i agree with your friend that you can play with keyboard only just fine.
so if this is true about having to learn the game on your own and everything isn't handed to you on a silver platter +10 for this game
might actually remove the -10 it gets for the absence of collision
It has collision - sort of. If you run into another player or npc, you'll stop in front of them for a sec - if you keep trying to move the same direction you'll then start slowly walking through them and then pass through completely. Better than nothing though, eh?
I view collision as a non-factor in this particular game... sure in some games I'd expect it, but in this one where there is no pvp I don't see collision having a point other than people using it to grief people at small passages, add in the fact there is no jumping to try and get around said douchebags blocking doors and collision just sounds like a bad idea.
The game definately doesn't hold your hand, however there is a difference between a game holding your hand and a game explaining itself in regards to game-play; certain aspects like crafting and gathering require a better explination so that getting started on said jobs doesn't feel you're guessing at it. The introduction doesn't need to be complicated, but I would like to see explinations for all the various mini-games you perform.Oh and a better understanding of how the city guilds work and how to join them.
Thank you, though I feel a thread with a proper name would suite the role you'd like this thread to serve better. I think what perhaps sets mine apart from others is the fact I'm just looking at the game as a gamer... are there flaws? Sure, but none were big enough to stop me from having fun and enjoying myself and I did state all the flaws I found which were really just complaints about feeling lost in how some game-play elements work. The core of the game works and is fun, I can see myself having fun for a long time even without bashing in other peoples skulls in pvp which this game clearly lacks and will lack for some time to come.
Some of the complaints I've seen are silly, I'd troll them but then I remember the fact most people no longer want challenge in their video games... I hope this game stays hard and punishes you for dying while on a quest, if that means failing the quest and not being able to repeat it so be it, just makes me play with that in mind.
so if this is true about having to learn the game on your own and everything isn't handed to you on a silver platter +10 for this game
might actually remove the -10 it gets for the absence of collision
It has collision - sort of. If you run into another player or npc, you'll stop in front of them for a sec - if you keep trying to move the same direction you'll then start slowly walking through them and then pass through completely. Better than nothing though, eh?
this doesn't sound too bad
i have not seen this in the videos i've watched - just walk through whatever it is as if it wasn't there
I wanted to chime in with some Beta first impressions of my own. Very briefly, for now.
Character Creation:
Better than some, but no where near as detailed as AoC or Aion.
Controls:
First, mouse is still in Software mode and is very slow and jerky on the screen. Second, if there is an easy way to remap your keys, I couldn't find it. The beta site includes key maps showing you what is mapped where, so if you want to attempt keyboard and mouse, you might want to print that up. In general, the controls, in the current state, are horrible clunky and harken back to something you might have found in an MMO ten years ago.
Second, control pad. I had a Thrustmaster 2 in 1 PS2/PC controller lying around, so plugged that in and after fiddling with the FFXIV config tool, was able to get all the buttons and controls properly mapped. I'm on Win7 x64 and Thrustmaster has drivers that work. The Thrustmaster configurator software in only for XP, so I didn't DL it earlier, but I'll try later to see if it runs in compatability mode. The analog joysticks where working in analog, but the movement was jerky and hard to control. This may be a hardware issue, not sure. I have a wired Xbox 360 controller on the way, which does have full Win7 x64 support, so hopefully one way or the other, I'll be able to iron out the rough patches.
Joystick issues aside, I was shocked to find that the gamepad interface for the game is almost as bad a design as the mouse/keyboard design is. I play console games, some console RPGs and this control scheme, like the keyboard scheme, seems like it's ten years behind the curve. SE should have plenty of experience in this regard, so I can't believe how bad the interface is!
Hopefully this will be fixed before launch, with hardware mouuse support, in game key mapping and better console style controls!
Intro:
We are once again back to "Old School". Maybe not entirely a bad thing, but it WILL take a lot of adjustments on the part of people who have been playing current MMOs over the last five years. No handholding tutorials, though there is some info available in game to help you out. The first two hours is SLOW and you will see little and accomplish even less as you try to adjust to the game.
So, not only is the intro lacking in a guided tutorial, (which would be VERY useful, given how different the game plays vs. other titles), but people who get bored fast or frustrated easily will likely wash out of this game before getting past the first day.
I'm expecting it gets much better, we'll see.
Combat:
Slow and akward. You are locked in with your traget, (is kiting even possible in this system?) and the ui isn't very good at communicating when you can use your skills. The info may be there, but it isn't intuitive and will require a learning curve. (once again, a nice tutotial would have helped transition people into this akward system).
It's still early, so I'm hoping things get much better with added skills and better familiarity with the interface and game design.
I'll leave the rest for later.
Summary:
The game design and ui are in many ways extremely akward. It's hard to know how much this will improve in the weeks ahead. One thing is certain, most people will have a hard time adjusting to the system as it currently is, with design issues being compounded by technical issues, like lack of hardware support and general control responsiveness issues.
Most people should NOT expect to jump into this game with the same ease than can jump into most current MMOs. Things need some serious improvement on the part of SE, but players will also have to willing to adjust to something that is probably very different than what they are used to.
I won't argue the fine points of the UI, but I will say that a good UI should make interaction as easy and as seemless for the user as possible. If you have to fight the UI to do what you want to do, then the UI itself is doing a huge dis-service to the game. Based on my first impressions, HATE would not be too strong a word for how I feel about this game's current UI, but I'm not ready to give up on the game just yet.
I won't argue the fine points of the UI, but I will say that a good UI should make interaction as easy and as seemless for the user as possible. If you have to fight the UI to do what you want to do, then the UI itself is doing a huge dis-service to the game. Based on my first impressions, HATE would not be too strong a word for how I feel about this game's current UI, but I'm not ready to give up on the game just because of it.
I'm not sure why they didn't use a standard GUI for PC's and use the current one for the PS3. Are you having fun in the game, as much as possible while also being responsible for testing, despite a clunky UI? Is the UI responsiveness slow, or it's just a lot of work to get where you're going?
I won't argue the fine points of the UI, but I will say that a good UI should make interaction as easy and as seemless for the user as possible. If you have to fight the UI to do what you want to do, then the UI itself is doing a huge dis-service to the game. Based on my first impressions, HATE would not be too strong a word for how I feel about this game's current UI, but I'm not ready to give up on the game just because of it.
I'm not sure why they didn't use a standard GUI for PC's and use the current one for the PS3. Are you having fun in the game, as much as possible while also being responsible for testing, despite a clunky UI? Is the UI responsiveness slow, or it's just a lot of work to get where you're going?
Fun? Not yet. I remember in the early days of MMOs, you almost always expected a painful learning curve with a new title, before you could get to the fun. In recent years, with improved UI design and intuitive game play, there usually isn't much of a learning curve for people who have played MMOs before.
FFXIV feels like a throw back to the early days, in that the introductory experience is akward enough that, at least for me, I wasn't able to get to anything "Fun" in the first 2+ hours of play.
So I'm readjusting my expectations and am determined to get past the difficult first peak of the learning curve, so I can evaluate what this game may offer beyond first impressions.
I'm hoping there is diamond beneath all this rough, but I do think SE has done a horrible job at managing first impressions, at least with this current build.
I won't argue the fine points of the UI, but I will say that a good UI should make interaction as easy and as seemless for the user as possible. If you have to fight the UI to do what you want to do, then the UI itself is doing a huge dis-service to the game. Based on my first impressions, HATE would not be too strong a word for how I feel about this game's current UI, but I'm not ready to give up on the game just because of it.
I'm not sure why they didn't use a standard GUI for PC's and use the current one for the PS3. Are you having fun in the game, as much as possible while also being responsible for testing, despite a clunky UI? Is the UI responsiveness slow, or it's just a lot of work to get where you're going?
Fun? Not yet. I remember in the early days of MMOs, you almost always expected a painful learning curve with a new title, before you could get to the fun.
EQ1 is generally considered the "early days" of mmo's. It was not difficult to learn the UI. UO before that was not difficult either.
EQ1 is generally considered the "early days" of mmo's. It was not difficult to learn the UI. UO before that was not difficult either.
Thanks for the info everyone on the KB and M issues. I know they are working on it so I'll reserve judgment for later
EQ wasn't that difficult to get into, but it was very different. I never played anything like it before that first day. I played MMOs before but this graphcal approach was different. Now getting in and tweaking EQ, like getting it just where you wanted it was kind of a pain at first. I also recall spending a lot of time rearranging my spellbook.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
While this was surely true at the start of beta phase 3, things have changed dramatically. Standing around an Aetheryte, you'll always hear someone offering out party invites to do Leves together. It's quite refreshing to be playing a game with a community that willfully helps each other out (when, frankly, they could just solo the Leves for less reward.)
Now be very very careful wit this statement Etra. Ive played many betas where the people were the friendliest people around and most helpful and wanting to party, but as soon as it went live people everywere rushed to try to get to end level ,etc etc etc.
But honestly I hope the community stays as good as you say. I truely hope.
"Do not fret! Your captain is about to enter Valhalla!" - General Beatrix of Alexandria
"The acquisition of knowledge is of use to the intellect, for nothing can be loved or hated without first being known." - Leo da Vinci
Slow and akward. You are locked in with your traget, (is kiting even possible in this system?) and the ui isn't very good at communicating when you can use your skills. The info may be there, but it isn't intuitive and will require a learning curve. (once again, a nice tutotial would have helped transition people into this akward system).
It's still early, so I'm hoping things get much better with added skills and better familiarity with the interface and game design.
I'll just add that it is a choice whether you lock onto a target or not. It isn't forced.
I play with keyboard only using the old FFXI set up for movement (numpad) and you can lock and unlock onto your target as much as you want pressing * key. I dont know what it is on the gamepad but Im sure it will list it in the Beta manual on the Beta site.
Autolock is turned on by default but if you go into the configuration menu in the main menu in game, it is the last item you can turn on or off in that list that is currently still written in japanese only.
I won't argue the fine points of the UI, but I will say that a good UI should make interaction as easy and as seemless for the user as possible. If you have to fight the UI to do what you want to do, then the UI itself is doing a huge dis-service to the game. Based on my first impressions, HATE would not be too strong a word for how I feel about this game's current UI, but I'm not ready to give up on the game just because of it.
I'm not sure why they didn't use a standard GUI for PC's and use the current one for the PS3. Are you having fun in the game, as much as possible while also being responsible for testing, despite a clunky UI? Is the UI responsiveness slow, or it's just a lot of work to get where you're going?
Fun? Not yet. I remember in the early days of MMOs, you almost always expected a painful learning curve with a new title, before you could get to the fun.
EQ1 is generally considered the "early days" of mmo's. It was not difficult to learn the UI. UO before that was not difficult either.
I think you are forgetting what things used to be like. There wasn't much standardization in interface and controls, there weren't interactive tutorials and many UIs were a bit on the clunky side. There was also a lot more variety in mechanics and other elements. For me, anyway, and others I've discussed this with, it was to be expected that you might really dislike a new MMO for the first day or two, until you adjusted and started to manage the learning curve.
FFXIV, right now, reminds me very much of those experiences. It's not just because it's different than the look and feel of most modern MMO GUIs, it's also sluggish and not very well put together. I expect there will be adjustments and fixes for some of this, but people should just be aware of it going in. You may have to fight with the UI a bit before you can settle in and enjoy game play.
Comments
Waldoe, I hope you are right, I really do hope you are right.
Theres only 3 thins that would make me quite playing FFXIV, after playing the beta and knowing what SE is trying to do.
1 - The armory system ends up in a mess.Im really scared with this.
2 - Not having similar end game content as FFXI.( of course this will take a while to see)
2 - What you said above.
I couldnt care less whatever everyone else is bitching about , UI/slow combat/Mouse controls/ etc.This is all it matters to me at this point.
From what I've seen in the Beta there is going to be an awful lot of grouping needed to level the combat classes (Magic / Melee / Ranged) and the only classes people may get fairly far with solo are the crafting / gathering classes. Sure you can solo the starter quests VIA that difficulty setting... but in the end I'm sure SE will make the hardest difficulty worthwhile.
From what I understand some mobs drop required parts crafters will need, so even then the harder mobs that require a group crafters will be forced to take part injust for materials.
Full Sail University - Game Design
While this was surely true at the start of beta phase 3, things have changed dramatically. Standing around an Aetheryte, you'll always hear someone offering out party invites to do Leves together. It's quite refreshing to be playing a game with a community that willfully helps each other out (when, frankly, they could just solo the Leves for less reward.)
@OP
I appreciate you posting this information and your personal take on the game. I've recommended this thread in another as a place to share additional constructive feedback and information.
This is my feeling too about Gamepad _(o.o)_/cheer
Howd you setup controller i have 64bit and its not working
If I may, what is so "different" about the keyboard and mouse for this game. This is the first time that idea of trouble with controls has ever come up for me.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
I figure this is a good place to post this.
After playing the beta for about 4 hours, my opinion of the game is favorable, so for now I'm keeping my CE pre-order.
Needs work, doubt it will be ready for the Sept 22 release date... but they do have 37 day to fix some of the more annoying problems.
We will see.
Most annoying bug I found is not being able to add skills to you bar with the controller.
Well you can, you have to click the drop menu with the mouse 1st, then you can add them.
cool
so if this is true about having to learn the game on your own and everything isn't handed to you on a silver platter +10 for this game
might actually remove the -10 it gets for the absence of collision
This is actually a bug, it was working correctly at beta stage 2, at least for me it was.
It has collision - sort of. If you run into another player or npc, you'll stop in front of them for a sec - if you keep trying to move the same direction you'll then start slowly walking through them and then pass through completely. Better than nothing though, eh?
It plays more like a console game than the usual MMO keyboard/ mouse layout.The mouse camera doesnt work as "fast" as other mmo´s or so people said, im playing on k/m atm and is not really that bad( once hardware mouse acceleration is in i think it will be OK, is not that troublesome as people say it is anymore) . So mainly the diference is that you can play with a controler as well.
From what I've heard - it's just like FFXI in this regard. If you use the keyboard, you'll probably end up discarding use of the mouse for the purposes of movement, since it ends up being less cumbersome to pivot the camera with the arrow keys (or I think J and L keys my beta tester friend told me he used).
Naa, since stage 3 it plays way better than 11 on this set up. There is still room for improvement tought.Altought i agree with your friend that you can play with keyboard only just fine.
I view collision as a non-factor in this particular game... sure in some games I'd expect it, but in this one where there is no pvp I don't see collision having a point other than people using it to grief people at small passages, add in the fact there is no jumping to try and get around said douchebags blocking doors and collision just sounds like a bad idea.
The game definately doesn't hold your hand, however there is a difference between a game holding your hand and a game explaining itself in regards to game-play; certain aspects like crafting and gathering require a better explination so that getting started on said jobs doesn't feel you're guessing at it. The introduction doesn't need to be complicated, but I would like to see explinations for all the various mini-games you perform.Oh and a better understanding of how the city guilds work and how to join them.
@The guy who recommended this thread to others
Thank you, though I feel a thread with a proper name would suite the role you'd like this thread to serve better. I think what perhaps sets mine apart from others is the fact I'm just looking at the game as a gamer... are there flaws? Sure, but none were big enough to stop me from having fun and enjoying myself and I did state all the flaws I found which were really just complaints about feeling lost in how some game-play elements work. The core of the game works and is fun, I can see myself having fun for a long time even without bashing in other peoples skulls in pvp which this game clearly lacks and will lack for some time to come.
Some of the complaints I've seen are silly, I'd troll them but then I remember the fact most people no longer want challenge in their video games... I hope this game stays hard and punishes you for dying while on a quest, if that means failing the quest and not being able to repeat it so be it, just makes me play with that in mind.
Full Sail University - Game Design
this doesn't sound too bad
i have not seen this in the videos i've watched - just walk through whatever it is as if it wasn't there
I wanted to chime in with some Beta first impressions of my own. Very briefly, for now.
Character Creation:
Better than some, but no where near as detailed as AoC or Aion.
Controls:
First, mouse is still in Software mode and is very slow and jerky on the screen. Second, if there is an easy way to remap your keys, I couldn't find it. The beta site includes key maps showing you what is mapped where, so if you want to attempt keyboard and mouse, you might want to print that up. In general, the controls, in the current state, are horrible clunky and harken back to something you might have found in an MMO ten years ago.
Second, control pad. I had a Thrustmaster 2 in 1 PS2/PC controller lying around, so plugged that in and after fiddling with the FFXIV config tool, was able to get all the buttons and controls properly mapped. I'm on Win7 x64 and Thrustmaster has drivers that work. The Thrustmaster configurator software in only for XP, so I didn't DL it earlier, but I'll try later to see if it runs in compatability mode. The analog joysticks where working in analog, but the movement was jerky and hard to control. This may be a hardware issue, not sure. I have a wired Xbox 360 controller on the way, which does have full Win7 x64 support, so hopefully one way or the other, I'll be able to iron out the rough patches.
Joystick issues aside, I was shocked to find that the gamepad interface for the game is almost as bad a design as the mouse/keyboard design is. I play console games, some console RPGs and this control scheme, like the keyboard scheme, seems like it's ten years behind the curve. SE should have plenty of experience in this regard, so I can't believe how bad the interface is!
Hopefully this will be fixed before launch, with hardware mouuse support, in game key mapping and better console style controls!
Intro:
We are once again back to "Old School". Maybe not entirely a bad thing, but it WILL take a lot of adjustments on the part of people who have been playing current MMOs over the last five years. No handholding tutorials, though there is some info available in game to help you out. The first two hours is SLOW and you will see little and accomplish even less as you try to adjust to the game.
So, not only is the intro lacking in a guided tutorial, (which would be VERY useful, given how different the game plays vs. other titles), but people who get bored fast or frustrated easily will likely wash out of this game before getting past the first day.
I'm expecting it gets much better, we'll see.
Combat:
Slow and akward. You are locked in with your traget, (is kiting even possible in this system?) and the ui isn't very good at communicating when you can use your skills. The info may be there, but it isn't intuitive and will require a learning curve. (once again, a nice tutotial would have helped transition people into this akward system).
It's still early, so I'm hoping things get much better with added skills and better familiarity with the interface and game design.
I'll leave the rest for later.
Summary:
The game design and ui are in many ways extremely akward. It's hard to know how much this will improve in the weeks ahead. One thing is certain, most people will have a hard time adjusting to the system as it currently is, with design issues being compounded by technical issues, like lack of hardware support and general control responsiveness issues.
Most people should NOT expect to jump into this game with the same ease than can jump into most current MMOs. Things need some serious improvement on the part of SE, but players will also have to willing to adjust to something that is probably very different than what they are used to.
I won't argue the fine points of the UI, but I will say that a good UI should make interaction as easy and as seemless for the user as possible. If you have to fight the UI to do what you want to do, then the UI itself is doing a huge dis-service to the game. Based on my first impressions, HATE would not be too strong a word for how I feel about this game's current UI, but I'm not ready to give up on the game just yet.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
I'm not sure why they didn't use a standard GUI for PC's and use the current one for the PS3. Are you having fun in the game, as much as possible while also being responsible for testing, despite a clunky UI? Is the UI responsiveness slow, or it's just a lot of work to get where you're going?
He who keeps his cool best wins.
Fun? Not yet. I remember in the early days of MMOs, you almost always expected a painful learning curve with a new title, before you could get to the fun. In recent years, with improved UI design and intuitive game play, there usually isn't much of a learning curve for people who have played MMOs before.
FFXIV feels like a throw back to the early days, in that the introductory experience is akward enough that, at least for me, I wasn't able to get to anything "Fun" in the first 2+ hours of play.
So I'm readjusting my expectations and am determined to get past the difficult first peak of the learning curve, so I can evaluate what this game may offer beyond first impressions.
I'm hoping there is diamond beneath all this rough, but I do think SE has done a horrible job at managing first impressions, at least with this current build.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
EQ1 is generally considered the "early days" of mmo's. It was not difficult to learn the UI. UO before that was not difficult either.
Thanks for the info everyone on the KB and M issues. I know they are working on it so I'll reserve judgment for later
EQ wasn't that difficult to get into, but it was very different. I never played anything like it before that first day. I played MMOs before but this graphcal approach was different. Now getting in and tweaking EQ, like getting it just where you wanted it was kind of a pain at first. I also recall spending a lot of time rearranging my spellbook.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
Now be very very careful wit this statement Etra. Ive played many betas where the people were the friendliest people around and most helpful and wanting to party, but as soon as it went live people everywere rushed to try to get to end level ,etc etc etc.
But honestly I hope the community stays as good as you say. I truely hope.
"Do not fret! Your captain is about to enter Valhalla!" - General Beatrix of Alexandria
"The acquisition of knowledge is of use to the intellect, for nothing can be loved or hated without first being known." - Leo da Vinci
I'll just add that it is a choice whether you lock onto a target or not. It isn't forced.
I play with keyboard only using the old FFXI set up for movement (numpad) and you can lock and unlock onto your target as much as you want pressing * key. I dont know what it is on the gamepad but Im sure it will list it in the Beta manual on the Beta site.
Autolock is turned on by default but if you go into the configuration menu in the main menu in game, it is the last item you can turn on or off in that list that is currently still written in japanese only.
I think you are forgetting what things used to be like. There wasn't much standardization in interface and controls, there weren't interactive tutorials and many UIs were a bit on the clunky side. There was also a lot more variety in mechanics and other elements. For me, anyway, and others I've discussed this with, it was to be expected that you might really dislike a new MMO for the first day or two, until you adjusted and started to manage the learning curve.
FFXIV, right now, reminds me very much of those experiences. It's not just because it's different than the look and feel of most modern MMO GUIs, it's also sluggish and not very well put together. I expect there will be adjustments and fixes for some of this, but people should just be aware of it going in. You may have to fight with the UI a bit before you can settle in and enjoy game play.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
