[Preview] Skyforge: Closed Beta First Impressions

SBFord

Skyforge, part of a joint development initiative between Allods Team and Obsidian with My.com as the publisher, recently hit closed beta status. Expected to launch just a little bit later this year, the F2P MMORPG is one we’ve been following for a while. We’ve been dabbling in the beta, and these are our initial thoughts.

Read more of Bill Murphy's Skyforge: Closed Beta First Impressions.

Mikeha

I like Skyforge and will keep playing. They really need to redo the voices because they are very bad.

BillMurphy

Originally posted by DMKano
I'd say it's a pass for me after closed beta. Zero hook for me after about 15 hours of play, I honestly thought the combat would be a lot more interesting - it's not. And there is nothing else to do except combat.

Yeah, right now I think I'll play it and enjoy it for what it is... a decent action MMO. I hope the PVP is fun, but I haven't had much time with it yet. I expect the Pantheon Wars to be a draw too. 

 

elocke

Spot on review. You said everything I was thinking. Glad it will be F2P but man I miss true open worlds in my MMOs these days.

orbitxo

from the video it looks stunning- and the combat reminded me of GW2 off the bat. the voices didnt bothered me as much as you mentioned.

my gripe with it from getgo was that they only have humans- and the clothing....oh my the clothes. cant get passed that.

 

 

Shadowdawnz

The game looks interesting but unfortunately, the animation is killing me and that is something I don't compromise on. To each his own. I hope the game is successfull in the end.

Foomerang

Looks like a next gen PSO or Vindictus. Both fun games. Thanks for the preview.

Nanfoodle

I like the setup of an MMO with all the fat trimmed. My wife and I are very busy right now and dont have much time. You can log into Skyforge and within a few min be doing missions and dungeon runs. Combat is fun but needs work. Some skills can seem spamy and you can start to wonder why I am left mouse clicking so much. I hold hope with feedback they will fix this.

This game is not pretending to be something else. Its a lobby game with some zones feeling like an open world. Its a get in and get out in 20-40 min and feel like you have progressed kinda game. After you get off the rails how much freedom you get with class and spec is just down right unique. Switching classes on the fly makes teaming easy and IMO a move more MMOs need to make.

 

BillMurphy

@Nanfoodle: Pretty great summary there. It's a time-limited casual's kind of game for sure. Really easy to get in and start having fun.  

I actually think this game could clean up on the new consoles, because it fits right in that "couch co-op" kind of gameplay. The open zones give a nice taste of "MMO" too. It's not for the folks wanting a true open world to play in, but rather for MMO fans who want to be able to progress through bitesized chunks of gameplay, but also maybe have the occasional hours-long session to spare too. 

In this way, its like Guild Wars 2, really.

SBFord

As to the voice acting, I've noticed a trend in games developed in Eastern Europe that seem to be using computerized or synthesized voices for VO work rather than actual people. Does that sound about right to you all? It certainly seems so in Skyforge.

 

goth1c

i am waiting to see their cash shop how its gona go

will75

Originally posted by BillMurphy

Originally posted by DMKano
I'd say it's a pass for me after closed beta. Zero hook for me after about 15 hours of play, I honestly thought the combat would be a lot more interesting - it's not. And there is nothing else to do except combat.

Yeah, right now I think I'll play it and enjoy it for what it is... a decent action MMO. I hope the PVP is fun, but I haven't had much time with it yet. I expect the Pantheon Wars to be a draw too. 

 

Hey Bill, how about some information on the NDA warning i received? I emailed back and no response. I mean what gives? I provided proof that Andrew meggs the developer and co founder of city state entertainment posted the picture on twitter.I get no apologies, no "sorry" ? Just ignore?

SBFord

Originally posted by will75

Originally posted by BillMurphy

Originally posted by DMKano
I'd say it's a pass for me after closed beta. Zero hook for me after about 15 hours of play, I honestly thought the combat would be a lot more interesting - it's not. And there is nothing else to do except combat.

Yeah, right now I think I'll play it and enjoy it for what it is... a decent action MMO. I hope the PVP is fun, but I haven't had much time with it yet. I expect the Pantheon Wars to be a draw too. 

 

Hey Bill, how about some information on the NDA warning i received? I emailed back and no response. I mean what gives? I provided proof that Andrew meggs the developer and co founder of city state entertainment posted the picture on twitter.I get no apologies, no "sorry" ? Just ignore?

Isn't that related to Camelot Unchained? This is a Skyforge thread. O.o

olepi

So this is another F2P/cash shop lobby game, and combat is all you can do. No open world, no crafting, no MMO. No thanks.

BillMurphy

Originally posted by SBFord

Originally posted by will75

 

Hey Bill, how about some information on the NDA warning i received? I emailed back and no response. I mean what gives? I provided proof that Andrew meggs the developer and co founder of city state entertainment posted the picture on twitter.I get no apologies, no "sorry" ? Just ignore?

Isn't that related to Camelot Unchained? This is a Skyforge thread. O.o

I think he might think I'm Mike B or one of the mods. I'm not!

Email community@mmorpg.com, they should take care of you. But I know Mike wasn't feeling so hot since PAX.  

Warlyx

im having fun so far,the combat is cool ^^ ,  its CBT and very limited....looks like RU beta had way more content , hell the dungeon on the official berserker stream isnt on CBT

my main issues are , how long until we are bored of grinding the same dungeons for sparks , i got to the upper atlas and the 1 slot is asking me for thousands for sparks from 175 up to 500 sparks , and there are lik 30 nodes until the class i want to play ....huge grind no doubt.

Repeating the same dungeons over and over is fun for a while , then it becomes a chore.

Open zones are cool and some dungeons are fun , lets hope for the best ^^

 

p.d i read somehwhere that the voiceovers are PH , dunno if thats true

 

Kajidourden

I enjoy the combat to an extent.  It's something I could see popping in for an hour or two and then logging out. 

One of my main gripes is that they artificially attempt to make bosses "difficult" by giving them a ton of HP rather than actually hitting hard/having cleave type attacks, etc.

It is a CBT, but yeah I can facetank anything, basically.  Especially since the bosses/mobs drop HP orbs.

It's funny to think that  f2p nexon games are my standard for action combat.  Vindictus, DFO, and Dragon Nest all have very fluid and satisfying combat.  This doesn't feel quite as well-tuned, but still enjoyable.

As for the open world complaints.....people who clearly didn't research the game are the ones complaining.  You cannot claim to have followed the game and think it was going to be an open-world experience.

 

Ilaya

Originally posted by SBFord
As to the voice acting, I've noticed a trend in games developed in Eastern Europe that seem to be using computerized or synthesized voices for VO work rather than actual people. Does that sound about right to you all? It certainly seems so in Skyforge.

 

It is stated in the Forums that these VO's are just placeholders. Here is the quote from their forums:

 

Known Issue: In-Game Voice Acting Quality
Hello Immortals!

As y ou enjoy your time in the Skyforge CBT, you may notice some of the voice acting currently present in the game is less than satisfactory. Please be aware, the voice acting in this version of the game is only temporary and will be replaced during the Open Beta!

Thanks,
Spunky

Nanfoodle

Originally posted by BillMurphy

@Nanfoodle: Pretty great summary there. It's a time-limited casual's kind of game for sure. Really easy to get in and start having fun.  

I actually think this game could clean up on the new consoles, because it fits right in that "couch co-op" kind of gameplay. The open zones give a nice taste of "MMO" too. It's not for the folks wanting a true open world to play in, but rather for MMO fans who want to be able to progress through bitesized chunks of gameplay, but also maybe have the occasional hours-long session to spare too. 

In this way, its like Guild Wars 2, really.

 

I agree 100%, this game would need little work to port to a console. I think it may do batter on the X-Box then the PC but thats just my 2 cents. With X-Box running Win 10 now, not a far stretch. 

Mikeha

Originally posted by Kajidourden

I enjoy the combat to an extent.  It's something I could see popping in for an hour or two and then logging out. 

One of my main gripes is that they artificially attempt to make bosses "difficult" by giving them a ton of HP rather than actually hitting hard/having cleave type attacks, etc.

It is a CBT, but yeah I can facetank anything, basically.  Especially since the bosses/mobs drop HP orbs.

It's funny to think that  f2p nexon games are my standard for action combat.  Vindictus, DFO, and Dragon Nest all have very fluid and satisfying combat.  This doesn't feel quite as well-tuned, but still enjoyable.

As for the open world complaints.....people who clearly didn't research the game are the ones complaining.  You cannot claim to have followed the game and think it was going to be an open-world experience.

 

 

 

I have to agree about the bosses. Having an easy boss with a lot of HP just makes it boring and a chore. The bosses should have 1 HP Bar but hit hard where you cant make mistakes. This is my main complaint about Skyforge.

nomadie

Originally posted by BillMurphy

Originally posted by DMKano
I'd say it's a pass for me after closed beta. Zero hook for me after about 15 hours of play, I honestly thought the combat would be a lot more interesting - it's not. And there is nothing else to do except combat.

Yeah, right now I think I'll play it and enjoy it for what it is... a decent action MMO. I hope the PVP is fun, but I haven't had much time with it yet. I expect the Pantheon Wars to be a draw too. 

 

Pvp Is horrible and by that I mean horrible, sadly there is only two pvp maps as it stand the 3 v 3 is just a crazy small map where you're maybe 30 feet from each other at start and then it becomes a boring mess when you get aoe spams and just die in a couple seconds from stun locks from mages or the Beserk class, then you got the slightly larger map where you free for all fight which is again just a mess of who can stun lock you till death first, the pvp maps are just way too small as they stand now to be of any real fun and the lack of anti cc other than you can sometimes dodge or break out of a stun only to get another stun on you takes the fun away fast. Lastly since not many people are playing the beta because of lack of keys and most don't want to spend 20 bucks to buy in not many people do pvp, you can play say at prestige 1,000 and then join any pvp match and you get put with 3,000 prestige players, you have 0 chance to win which causes most people not even want to try the pvp so I hope they change this.

 

 

Alverant

It sounds interesting. I'm not a PvPer. I dislike how you can't have alts though. I want to do actual RP in a MMORPG so having alts gives me options.

Methos12

I honestly expected better voice acting considering they have Obsidian working States-side for them.

silvermember

Originally posted by Methos12
I honestly expected better voice acting considering they have Obsidian working States-side for them.

Considering Obsidian just said recently that Kickstarter saved them from bankruptcy. I doubt it.

KiF1rE

Originally posted by Methos12
I honestly expected better voice acting considering they have Obsidian working States-side for them.

They have repeatedly said this is a WIP closed beta test and the current voice acting is a place holder. But people dont read apparently. Now if it's this way after release then yeah, but they have repeatedly said its placeholder and not much official voice work is done yet.

elocke

Originally posted by Nanfoodle

I like the setup of an MMO with all the fat trimmed. My wife and I are very busy right now and dont have much time. You can log into Skyforge and within a few min be doing missions and dungeon runs. Combat is fun but needs work. Some skills can seem spamy and you can start to wonder why I am left mouse clicking so much. I hold hope with feedback they will fix this.

This game is not pretending to be something else. Its a lobby game with some zones feeling like an open world. Its a get in and get out in 20-40 min and feel like you have progressed kinda game. After you get off the rails how much freedom you get with class and spec is just down right unique. Switching classes on the fly makes teaming easy and IMO a move more MMOs need to make.

 

My issue with games with the fat trimmed is I tend to forget about them after awhile.  Especially if an MMORPG with more depth and open world pulls me to it.  Basically, these games are fun, but they are just "games" and not worlds and the longevity for said type of games is low for me and isn't what I look for in the genre.

It's very similar to Neverwinter to me and just like Neverwinter, I'm finding myself not thinking about the game when I'm offline and that alone will make me forget about it.  The opposite of this is FFXI.  That game has so much content and stuff to do and depth and hidden stuff that being offline I still find myself thinking about it and metagaming it up in forums all over the net.  So of the two, which do I find better?  Obviously the experience FFXI gives me.  Extreme longevity. 

It's like a catch 22.  It's a fun game but it doesn't make me want to play it.