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Another review
Uldah
Member Posts: 162
First of all a bit of an introduccion.I have played a lot of mmos, but the ones i stayed the longest are FFXI-WOW-AION-AOC-RoM-EQ-Mortal online-GW.I am spanish so forgive my spelling mystakes. I´ll right down facts , then followed by personal opinion so they dont overlap.
Installing:
The downloader SE has is a complete mess, works only for 50% of the player base.Gets stuck a lot and have to restart.
- There is an easy fix for this, for client an for updates. Is to use the torrent SE gives us and download it with any torrent p2p program. Theres a lot on info about this all around so i wont go in details.Is the best work around i have found atm.Basicly is on //My documents/My games/ and find were the torrents are, then open the desired torrent with utorrent or similar. Once downloaded move it into My games beta folder and execute client again. Win-win.
Character Creation.
Limited compared to a game char creation like aion.Lot better customisation than a game like wow or FFXI.The race you chooce and guardian its supoused to have somewhat of an impat on your gameplay at higher levels.How much it will , to early to say.
Opening Movies.
Stunnig, Beautifull and Inmersing.Not much else to say apart that the voice acting is ,, weird.The main song theme,incredible.(IMO)
First impression.
The very first impression you get when you get "tossed out "in the city is how lost you are. This can be fixed by a bit of exploration and following the directions the NPC chat gives you.The lack of tutorials can be a mayor thin for some , not so much for others . It does not have tutorials, as long as your aware of that fact you can quickly catch up on the ways of thins, or always shout for directions and with a bit of luck there are usually some responces.
UI.
To many menus to get anythin done, you get acostumed to it after playing a few hours but the interface lag makes it utterly imposible to get anythin done fast.
-On a side note, ffxi is pretty much the same but without the lag and more polished.Without the lag i dont think it will be such a big deal(apart from crafting), just need to be open minded and try to get acostumed to the new interace.What makes this system completly unplayable is the lag, even if there are way to many window to press to do what you whant to.Everythin is done server side(idont know why the chooce to but is the way it is) so im pretty sure it will be a lot smoother later on when servers are polished.(by release or soon after)
Controls-
I tryed all 3 set ups, K/M, Controller, /keyboard.
K/M-
This was the hardest to play in at first hand, becouse the mouse speed goes by your fps (software mouse) and since we have mayor lag problems it goes like shit.That is until,,,, check around in FFXIAH.com for the easy fix they found out there, they simply "ENABLE" hardware acelerated mouse, since the client already has it, but the option is turned off. Why? hell i dont know. like everythin else SE whants us to try diferent aproaches i can only asume this much.With this fix the mouse works like it would in any MMO i have played up till now.
Controler,
Controler is confortable at start, but after having 8 + skills to use +some lag IS JUST IMPOSIBLE TO PERFORM in a party, i play a glad i dont have to smash buttons rather make long rotation. Is just imposible to perform correctly later on with a controler atm on higer levels. The lag from your party alone will make you literally useless.
Keyboard.
This seems to be the best all around way of playing but it has a mayor flaw, TARGETING. Is really bad to target when theres a lot of mobs all around , even worse than with a controler.The rest is actually better than the rest of set ups since everythin can be done with pressing couple of keys without delay.
-------How to play best ? Hint, MACROS.
It does not matter what set up you use to play, macros will make it 100% easier to do ABOUT ANYTHIN.Seriously , once you get acostume to macros EVERYthin is just so much easier and smooth.It adds more to the learning curve of course since you have to learn how to make them, but once you got them, god those it makes a diference for everythin.Combat, crafting, changing classes , moving around, just about the more macros you have , the better you can play.If you dont whant to do macros stay away from this game seriously, i expent hours just making my macros, but after i was done , the game just skipped all useless double acept and useless windows and the UI and controls felt 150% better all together.
Why does SE leads us this way? idk, im just saying how the game works better.
Surplus, Leveling curve.
I been playing a lot since open beta started at i havent hit surplus with anythin yet, ( by a lot i mean i stayed playing like 12 h 2 days and above 8 couple more in a row)So everythin people said in closed beta it can go to the bug section of the game.Feel kinda bad for everyone who stays away just becouse of surplus, theres nothin like that atm.
The leveling curve is huge, thats all i have to say about this matter.Everyone earns pretty much the same exp, so i dont see it as big issue more than to make the leveling procces longer.
World
is small at beta, nobady knows how big it is at release.
------But 1 thin is certain , you wont reach a barrier were you can stand and say "now what im done with the game".If i learned anythin from ffxi is that SE is a company that brings never ending content, u could play it for years and never be done with the game.The lack of areas/content on beta or even at release is not somethin people should be worried about.Is what they were always so "proud of" so is just natural to think this will be evolving constantly. The devs already said there will be a big update coming every 3 months , so you get an idea of what im talking bout.
Hardware.
The main problem people are having with the hardware is not becouse is made for ps3, is becouse is made for next generations PCs On par with ps3 gaming power.(at least with max settings, on low or normal a very cheap pc[around 500] can run it perfectly) They dont whant to hit the wall they hit with ffxi.( witch again they will be limited by ps3 , but there will be a long time before ps3 hardware becomes absolete)
--------- IS it fun ?
Well this is not the same for everyone, for me BETA IS NOT FUN. Why? becouse everythin i do now is pointless, apart from testing the game mechanics , and that to me, is not fun.Once i can start growing up on my character the game will become fun to me.
Will it be ready/smooth at release?
NO
---- No and 100 times no,but this means 0 to me.The MMORPG genre is supoused to evolve to keep people playing.The release will problably scare a lot of people away.Way before march next year when the ps3 version goes live the game will be at its best time to join in. The CE orders will be bad , and the initial wave of players will decay mainly becouse is somethin diferent, becouse yes it is.They will join back up once thins are more stable, and the wikkis are all updated with guides and everythin is handed out on a plate. Also when all the ui issues are fixed( if ever are ), or rather when there are guides into copy pating macros to no end to make the game more friendly.By no means im saying anyone is an idiot or a fool for flaming the game, everyone have their choices and points.Everyone have diferent tastes.
Also dont say becouse some other mmo/company didnt keep their promises means every other company have to be the same. I base myself on FFXI its predecesor. They did it there, they keep it updated , there was no ending content. Its only obvious at least you give them the credit for that and a bit of trust.
Myself i whant to be there since day one, i learned the hard way when playing ffxi, that is a constantly evolving world.I whant to watch it from day 1 and not be left out , experiment and find myself lost without knowing what to do, grow atached to my character as i put more time and effort in it .I can understand if people dont like a half baked game, becouse is what its going to be at release.I prefer a never ending evolving game, even if it lacks at release. Is a matter of tastes i supouse.
Anyhow is what i think about it on my very honest opinion, and is how i see the future of this game . Im not a blind fan. I can see all the flaws , but i can also see the big picture behind it, and give the game a fair chance.
Comments
More beta reviews.
Quotations Those Who make peaceful resolutions impossible, make violent resolutions inevitable. John F. Kennedy
Life... is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come - Lester Freeman
Lie to no one. If there 's somebody close to you, you'll ruin it with a lie. If they're a stranger, who the fuck are they you gotta lie to them? - Willy Nelson
^^Sad thing is that not much has changed in between the periods of closed beta to open beta. I doubt there will be too much added between now and launch either.
This is a good Beta review/ preview. On the money in most cases. If the game releases in this state there is a high barrier of entry with the launcher and initial feeling of being lost and not knowing what do to.
Personally, I am done with work arounds for the launcher. If SE can't even get that right with only a few weeks to release then it should be delayed. That is so basic and fudemental I can only imagine what else wont' work on release.
Anyway, I have personally decided to do no more updates in the OB until the patcher at least works within reason for an open beta, near release product. Which means it should work most of the time. Right now, for me, it does not work at all. I cannot fairly view gameplay when I am frustrated at the fact that I MUST work around the launcher at this stage of the games development..
The game graphics and cut scenes are outstanding though. The character models look great too.
Indeed. Of course the delusional will always believe in 'the miracle patch'.
Everything, EVERYTHING has to be tested. If not in open beta than in closed. If it wasn't in open OR closed betas, then it's not in release.
They have specifically said that they are holding back major story lines and other content. Just because they don't let a bunch of unexperienced beta testers who got drawn out of a hat test something, doesn't mean it hasn't been tested. You think a huge company like SE doesn't have their own group of game testers / QA team?
Covered pretty much everything. The game is fun, although quite different for anyone new to an SE MMO. It's a shame because this looks like a fun and beautiful game, but it's plagued by a bad development and design team. They're constantly fighting mass opinion and implementing stupid features. The mouse was great and the lag wasn't half as bad in earlier phases. Now they've clearly turned off a feature that fixes the mouse and refuse to reactivate it for no reason. Literally no reason. The lag is extremely bad now, even on low settings a computer that can run the most graphic intensive game of 2010 is going to skip around like a broken record.
If they're 20 days or so away from release, and this is the state of the game... I'm going to feel like a tool for having pre-ordered this based on my opinion of the CLOSED beta. I've never seen a game get this much worse as time went on.
That's pretty par for the course though. Open betas are generally to stress test the servers rather than add new content.
They have said they are holding back on the full story arc, not other content since the end of closed beta.
I big part of any beta is tester feedback. Its often what turns a dull alpha into a good game. That's where SE are failing, they are in a rut and simply ignoring most of the complaints, and half heartedly addressing show stoppers.
What they are doing is focusing on what would be single player aspects (ie. the story arc), and forgetting they are making a MMO.
Maybe, like Adventurine, they are using robot testers?
SE never beta tested any of the extension for FFXI even when introducing major new game mechanisms. They are doing the tests in-house.
Non mmorpg games are never publicly beta tested... only reason for public beta tests is to get more free testers and to test the "masilvly" part of the software
lol yeah, nearly all people taking part to a beta test are not interested in testing specific features and reporting the problems they find. They just want to play before others.
Great Review OP,
Anyway, I blame Closed Beta and Alpha Testers for the UI being the way that it is now.
Obviously, there is alot of Very Simply fixes that could be put in place to help the game
Enabling the hardware cursor is one, Shortcuts to the Menus that Matter.
The Journal, The Abilities/Traits, The Inventory, and Equipment screen.
There should Be a Instructional box when you die, and some npcs should stand out..
If your still playing the Beta test please send in suggestions to Square-enix support before it is too late ><
Intel Core 2 Duo @2.88
Upgrading to
AMD Phenom II x6 1055T
4.0 Gigs DDR2 RAM
Upgrading to
4.0 Gigs of DDR3 1066 RAM
Asus P5B-NE SLI Mobo
Upgrading to
MSI 870A-G54 mobo
ATI Radeon 4800
Upgrading to
ATI Radeon 5770
Just to be able to play FFXIV.
Consider that, a Warning.
I like the OP's review, he and I share pretty much the same view on ffxiv.
What gets me is how all these people jump the gun on bashing the game when they dont know anything yet. Lets just look back at the first day of OB. When they stopped giving keys these same people were on the front lines bashing SE for it not being a "true OB", well look at it now, anyone who wants a key, or 2, or 3, can go get one right now. Seems like a true OB to me. They had their reason for stopping keys. Now where are these people at on this topic? They were wrong so they just went onto something else.
I see a solid game foundation in FFXIV sure theres problems now, but because I have spent so long in ffxi and have seen how SE works I have no doubts that massive ammounts of content will be added over the years to come, and the problems willl be fixed. Will it all be in the first 3 months? No
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
Now Playing: N/A
Worst MMO: FFXIV
Favorite MMO: FFXI
They should delay then, instead of trying to milk a fan base. I know other companies have done the same, but it doesn't make it right. People are also sick of it. FF XIV also takes it to the extreme.
why do you want to punish the fans who think its playable and ready, how about you delay buying it? That seems like a win win to me.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
Now Playing: N/A
Worst MMO: FFXIV
Favorite MMO: FFXI
They arent taking anymore feedback on the beta forums as far as i know, so im guessing the OB is only for stress test, most problems people have wont be fixed by release, theres just no time. We will definetly have more content but not a LOT more. But the game with evolve quickly, down the road when ps version comes out will problably be as polished as it should had been on pc release.
Sucks but ill still play it, on release , theres nothin better out there atm at all and i know in the long run is were this game is gonna shine.Theres no 1 big fix patch like people say, theres a bunch of small fixes that makes the game better in the long run. At the very least is how FFXI worked out, and is what i base on all the credit i give SE for FFXIV.Most AAA games coming out soon ill be bored in few months and go back to 14 again and again anyways to find myself theres just to much to do and be left out. Is exactly what happened with my FFXI experience.
edit; there seems to be a journal for crafting of some sort i belive it will be on the release, when u finish a crafting local quest you will get the message
"You have learned "X" Recipt"
I belive they did take feedback on closed betas, there is just no time to adress all with how limited the time is.
What most people see as " an easy fix " , never is anythin close to that, is hard and it takes time , time they dont have atm, but they will later on.
edit 2; the main reason i made another review or posted here anyways is becouse nobady was talking bout the macros, or how important they actually are, honestly if your in beta learn them , and customise your gameplay and UI whatever you whant , is not that hard.I could actually make the battles a push 1 button many times if i wished to working with macros, opening any menu with 1 key,( but crafting ) and have auto gear/lass change if you wish to as well.Te game is only as bad as you whant it to be.
Yes! It's soooo "next generation" that the game's engine is based on DX 9.0c API (FYI, video cards with DX9.0c support were initially released more than 3 years ago)!!!111
P.S: I just love all the random assumptions the fanbots come up with when trying to justify the existing issues in the beta version... So much entertainment
That means nothin since ps3 doesnt use DX to beging with, so using a dx9 aproach is only understandable,since they started developing this game 4 yearsago, they are trying to do both, or do you really like to go and say ps games are bad becouse they dont use DX and instead a form of OpenGL?.
Let me refrase that, The game is done for next generations pc ON PAR with ps3 gaming.
If you so blindly belive im a fanbot becouse i point out facts about the game and toss in my opinion, then by all means , i rather be that than someone who comes with nothin more than lames excuses to try and bash someone elses argument.
DX9 is the last available on Win XP. DX10 is vista only (and who would want to use Vista to play to anything ?) and DX11 is Win7.
Hmm, weird I play Metro 2033 on highest settings on 20 fps and still don't have any mouse problems, must be a bug.
Are you really comparing a shooter that was released on 2010 with a MMORPG that was started to being developed when there wasnt even DX10 to beging with that is currently using software mouse on a beta ?
Walks away slowly,
Once again,
/eaction "FacePalm" <me>
Next generation PC wont have mouse anyway
LOL yea right.... guess there is no reason for USB 3.0 then
oooh.. Telepathy?